Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Deferred
Re-establish an independent Courts’ Inspectorate with updated, broadened terms of reference.
Recommendation
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 justice. An inspectorate could also help to monitor the use of technology in the courts. Accordingly, we recommend that the Government re-establish a Courts’ Inspectorate with updated and broadened terms of reference. (Paragraph 35) 44 Court Capacity The criminal courts The Crown Court
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Since the start of the pandemic, we have significantly increased our capacity in criminal courts to conduct hearings with multiple defendants. This has included works to increase defendant capacity, including modifying 71 courtrooms to hold large multi-hander trials, and opening super courtrooms at Manchester and Loughborough, capable of holding hearings with up to 12 defendants. We will continue to keep our estate under to review to ensure it meets our operational requirements. The Criminal Courts—Technological Capacity in the Crown Court