Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Deferred
HMCTS fails to recognise importance of court estate condition and lacks transparency on maintenance backlog funding.
Conclusion
We are concerned by HMCTS’ failure to recognise the importance of the condition of the physical estate for both the functioning of courts and the public’s perception of civil justice. We have both seen and heard of unacceptable examples of poorly maintained court buildings, its impact on staff morale, and the ability to deliver swift access to justice. We are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding capital funding announcements in tackling the £1.3 billion court maintenance backlog and how successful its Estate Strategy will be in handling the scale of the backlog. (Conclusion, Paragraph 100)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government explained the document upload limits for new digital systems and committed to reviewing the current lower limit for email submissions, but did not address the concerns about the condition of the physical court estate, maintenance backlog, or funding transparency.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
Accept. We will provide the requested breakdown of spending, via a letter to the Committee, before the end March 2026. It is important that court buildings are safe, secure and meet statutory requirements. We announced a boost in court capital maintenance and project funding from £120 million last year to £148.5m for 2025/26.
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