Spending watchdog warns of pressures piling up for 'already stretched' MoJ Snapshot report contrasts shortage of prison places with boosted sentencing projections and delayed court hearings PA Images 08 Jan 2021 The National Audit Office has highlighted a looming series of pressures the Ministry of Justice is facing as it deals with the multiple impacts of Covid-19 and new government initiatives. It said prison-capacity reductions caused by the pandemic and a backlog of court cases set to stretch into 2023 would be accompanied by a surge in demand for court time and potentially prison space caused by additional police officers being recruited in the coming years.