Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Deferred
Recognised difficulty in retrofitting old court buildings to meet accessibility standards.
Conclusion
We recognise the difficulty in retrofitting old court buildings to meet the required accessibility standards set out in Section 20 of the Equality Act
Government Response Summary
The government's response, despite stating 'Accept in part,' detailed its AI Action Plan for Justice and various AI pilots, which is unrelated to the committee's conclusion regarding the difficulty of retrofitting old court buildings for accessibility.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Accept in part. The AI Action Plan for Justice, published in July 2025, sets out the Ministry of Justice’s approach to responsible and proportionate AI adoption across courts, tribunals, prisons, probation and supporting services. It has been developed in consultation with the judiciary and legal services regulators and will be implemented in collaboration with our wider justice sector partners such as the Home Office, the Crown Prosecution Service and our trade unions. It complements wider government efforts to safely modernise public services and builds on the UK’s global strengths in legal services, data science, and AI innovation. As such, the Ministry of Justice has already conducted consultation into the use of AI to improve the performance and operations of the justice system. HMCTS sees the introduction of AI as a key enabler of better service provision for court users and is committed to delivering AI innovation. This must be done safely, ethically and responsibly in partnership with the judiciary. HMCTS is supporting the implementation of the AI Action Plan for Justice, and has already delivered pilots with promising results that indicate how AI could be used to improve performance and operations of the County Court including: Piloting AI-powered transcription and summarisation, to help judges process cases more efficiently while maintaining accuracy and oversight; exploring how AI can support anonymisation of judgments and documents, helping to protect privacy while maintaining transparency; and testing AI-enabled search and assistant capabilities within case management systems to help legal professionals find information more effectively. We will continue to share updates on our progress and welcome engagement from across the justice community as we work together to harness the potential of AI while safeguarding the principles of justice that underpin our legal system. Conclusions on the Work of the County Court