Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Accepted
Enhancing court capacity requires addressing judicial, staff, digital, and physical elements concurrently.
Conclusion
To enhance the capacity of the civil and family courts, it is vital to address each of the core elements of court capacity: judicial, staff, digital and physical. As the Lord Chief Justice explained, digital and physical capacity have a significant bearing on the ability to recruit judges and expand judicial capacity. (Paragraph 114) 48 Court Capacity
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the underlying sentiment, detailing plans to maximise sitting days, ensure administrative and staffing support, continue the Reform programme, and highlighted a £324 million investment over three years to improve timeliness in civil and family courts and tribunals.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The civil courts play a crucial role in ensuring citizens have access to justice and in supporting the economy. Despite the impact of the pandemic our timeliness figures in civil courts remained stable over 2021. However, we are working to improve timeliness, across all tracks for claims that progress to a hearing. We took swift action in response to the pandemic, including introducing Covid-secure courtrooms and remote hearings. We will maximise the number of sitting days utilised across the jurisdiction, ensuring the administrative and staffing support required for those sitting days is in place, and will continue to deliver efficiencies through our Reform programme which will improve the user experience and remove some administrative tasks enabling cases to reach hearing readiness sooner. The Spending Review settlement includes a further £324 million over the next 3 years to improve timeliness in civil and family courts and tribunals. Due to timeliness metrics being recorded at the conclusion of a case, it will take time for improvements in timeliness to become evident in data. Following the Call for Evidence on Dispute Resolution, the Ministry of Justice is also exploring proposals to promote the early and consensual resolution of disputes where appropriate, ensuring that court resources are focussed on cases that require a judgment.