Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Paragraph: 62
Produce comprehensive evaluation of Nightingale Courts and outline future policy for supplementary venues.
Recommendation
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, and ensure that the lessons learned from their establishment and operation are taken forward.
Government Response Summary
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 technology and reform programmes within the justice system.
Paragraph Reference:
62
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Although the Government recognises the opportunity that the Royal Commission presents to look at structural questions in the system, we are now taking the time to consider where a Royal Commission will add the most value to the substantial cross-departmental work already underway. We are already delivering significant programmes of work to ensure all component parts of the system work together to deliver swifter justice. We have published the CJS Delivery Data Dashboard (formerly called the CJS Scorecard) which is a vital step in improving transparency and increasing understanding of the CJS. Under the HMCTS Court Reform programme, we have been modernising our services since 2016 to improve efficiency and provide new, user-friendly digital services. We have introduced the Common Platform system in the criminal courts which ensures the courts, the CPS, and police all have access to the same case information, and it is now live in 50% of Criminal cases. We have introduced measures for a number of reforms to the courts system through the Judicial Review and Courts Act and expanded measures for video and audio hearings in courts through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. Technology in the courts was the solution to keep justice moving during the pandemic and remote hearings have played an integral part in our continued recovery of the courts, with the Video Hearing Service, designed in partnership between HMCTS and the judiciary, now being rolled out to replace the Cloud Video Platform. Civil and Family Courts—Family Court