Recommendations & Conclusions
18 items
3
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The Government should develop and deliver a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of the court estate, which is funded on a multi-year basis. The plan should identify solutions for delivering essential maintenance without reducing physical capacity. It should also set out a long-term strategy for improving the court estate …
Government response. The government deflected the recommendation regarding a comprehensive plan for court estate quality, instead detailing funding commitments for data improvement (£3 million for next year, increasing for 2023–25) and HMCTS data infrastructure modernisation (£16 million investment from 2020/21-2022/23), including the …
Ministry of Justice
4
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice publish an update on the progress made on each project within the HMCTS court reform programme and, in particular, the date by which the programme is expected to complete and its anticipated final cost.
Government response. The government deflected the recommendation to publish updates on the HMCTS court reform programme's progress, completion date, and cost, instead detailing efforts to recruit up to 1100 judges in 2022/23 and improvements in HMCTS staff pay and reward.
Ministry of Justice
5
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS have missed opportunities to swiftly deliver an ambitious court reform programme. Many of the problems that we heard about during our inquiry and continue to hear about, could have been avoided if better data collection had been built into the system much earlier. We …
Government response. The government deflected the committee's concern about missed opportunities and the need for sustained investment in data collection, instead defending existing scrutiny mechanisms and rejecting the idea of re-establishing a court inspectorate due to significant resourcing and legislative requirements.
Ministry of Justice
6
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
Improving the quality of data in the justice system will help the MoJ to determine whether the courts have the capacity they need to deal with cases in a timely fashion. The Government needs to have access to high-quality data in order to be able predict how the number of …
Government response. The government deflected the recommendation regarding improving data quality for court capacity analysis, instead committing an extra £477 million to the Criminal Justice system over three years to reduce the Crown Court backlog to 53,000 cases by March 2025.
Ministry of Justice
10
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The Government also argued that the inspection provided by the existing criminal justice inspectorates and the National Audit Office was sufficient. We do not believe that this argument has stood the test of time.
Government response. The government did not address the committee's conclusion about the insufficiency of existing inspections. Instead, it detailed ongoing efforts to improve judicial recruitment, court capacity, and legal aid provision through various investments and programmes.
Ministry of Justice
11
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
We are concerned that at present there is a significant gap within the inspection regime in the justice system. For example, there is no inspectorate that covers the civil and family courts. Nor is there one in respect of Coroners’ Courts—indeed, our Report on the Coroner Service recommended that the …
Government response. The government did not address the recommendation for a new courts' inspectorate to cover gaps in the inspection regime. Instead, it provided an update on the Nightingale court programme and committed to a comprehensive evaluation of it by the end …
Ministry of Justice
12
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
A Courts’ Inspectorate, which is independent from Government, could make a substantial difference to the accountability and transparency of the justice system. It could use inspections and the promised improvements to the quality of the data to make recommendations that can inform policy and guidance in both criminal and civil …
Government response. The government did not address the recommendation to re-establish a Courts' Inspectorate. Instead, it described efforts to increase physical capacity in criminal courts for multi-defendant trials and stated it would continue to review the court estate.
Ministry of Justice
13
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The recovery in the Crown Court will depend on the ability of the courts to dispose of a significantly higher average number of trials each month. While we recognise the difficulties of setting prescriptive targets. While we recognise the difficulties of setting prescriptive targets, the Government should set out the …
Government response. The government did not provide monthly Crown Court trial targets or a roadmap for reducing outstanding cases. Instead, it detailed the rollout of Section 28 for sexual and modern slavery offences, including monitoring its effects and publishing interim evaluation findings …
Ministry of Justice
14
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The current situation on timeliness in the Crown Court is causing significant injustice. The pandemic has made the situation worse, but the factors responsible for increased delays over the past decade are deep-rooted. A long-term approach to investment in the capacity of the Crown Court and the wider criminal justice …
Government response. The government stated that case listing is a judicial responsibility, but it supports efforts to improve effectiveness. It also mentioned working on Section 28 rollout and developing proposals for enhanced court provision for victims of sexual violence, with further details …
Ministry of Justice
15
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The Committee welcomes the publication of criminal justice scorecards. We recommend that the Government builds on these scorecards by setting itself targets to improve timeliness across the criminal justice system. The Government should also set timeliness targets for the average time taken from offence recorded to ultimate conclusion for specific …
Government response. The government did not commit to setting new timeliness targets across the criminal justice system or for specific offences. Instead, it stated it would evaluate the impact of remote hearings from the HMCTS Reform program to inform future policy.
Ministry of Justice
16
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
Whilst we welcome the opportunity to view the MoJ’s forecasting models, we recommend that the Government routinely publishes its models and publishes a detailed recovery plan that sets out how it plans to meet its target of reducing the number of outstanding cases to 53,000 by March 2025. We believe …
Government response. The government did not address publishing forecasting models, a Crown Court recovery plan, or targets for increasing Crown Court capacity and sitting days. Instead, it described efforts and investments to streamline magistrate recruitment through a revised online process.
Ministry of Justice
17
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
We share the view of the judiciary and the MoJ that judicial capacity is, at present, the most pressing constraint in the courts system. We welcome the Government’s plans to recruit more judges. The Government should learn the lesson from past decisions that have led to a reduction in judicial …
Government response. The government did not provide a detailed plan to increase the number of judges in the Crown Court. Instead, it explained how increasing magistrates' court sentencing powers aims to reduce the Crown Court backlog and free up sitting days, and …
Ministry of Justice
18
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
We welcome the Government’s announcement of the lease extension for a number of the Nightingale Courts. The Government should now set out its policy on the future use of supplementary venues to support the work of the Crown Court. It should also produce a comprehensive evaluation of the Nightingale Courts, …
Government response. The government did not set out its policy on the future use of supplementary venues like Nightingale Courts or commit to a comprehensive evaluation of them. Instead, it outlined its current consideration of a Royal Commission and listed several ongoing …
Ministry of Justice
19
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The Committee welcomes the creation of super-courtrooms and commends HMCTS for their work in getting them up and running during the pandemic. The Government should set out how many more super-courtrooms will be provided by
Government response. The government did not address the recommendation to set out how many more super-courtrooms will be provided. Instead, it detailed cross-departmental work and funding initiatives aimed at supporting separating couples and children within the family justice system.
Ministry of Justice
21
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The rollout and expansion of section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, which allows pre-recording of evidence and cross-examination for children and vulnerable witnesses, is an important step in improving the experience of these witnesses in the criminal justice system. However, it is vital that a …
Government response. The government's response discussed efforts to improve family courts and promote mediation, including a £5.1 million commitment to the Mediation voucher scheme, completely deflecting from the recommendation about reviewing Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
Ministry of Justice
22
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
There is more that can be done to make listing more transparent and effective, for example by distinguishing between listing decisions based on court capacity and those based on case progression. The development of local justice scorecards will help to identify where delays are particularly acute. In terms of effectiveness, …
Government response. The government's response outlined ongoing civil court reform projects, including the delivery of a reformed service for civil money claims by March 2023, deflecting from the recommendation on improving listing transparency, national guidance, and specialist courts.
Ministry of Justice
23
Conclusion
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The use of video remand hearings in magistrates courts highlights the importance of coordination across the criminal justice system on the use technology within the criminal courts. In the long-term, the MoJ should use research on remote hearings, such as the Evaluation of remote hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic, to …
Government response. The government's response focused on general efforts to improve timeliness in civil and family courts, including a £324 million investment over three years, but did not commit to developing specific guidance on video hearings in magistrates' courts based on research.
Ministry of Justice
26
Recommendation
Sixth report - Court capacity
Deferred
The evidence to this inquiry has shown that the criminal courts are going through a period of significant change and the question of the role of technology in the courts is particularly pressing. The Government should proceed with its manifesto commitment to establish a Royal Commission on the criminal justice …
Government response. The government has deferred the recommendation to establish a Royal Commission, stating they are considering where it would add most value given substantial existing cross-departmental work and ongoing significant reform programmes in the criminal justice system.
Ministry of Justice