Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 8
Sixty-First Report - Progress on the courts and tribunals reform programme
Published 30 Jun 2023
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Court Reform Programme: progress review All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
When we examined the programme in 2019, we were concerned that many stakeholders did not feel listened to, undermining trust in the reforms. We highlighted 7 Qq 28, 86, 105; C&AG’s Report, paras 1.9, Figure 3 8 Q 24; Letter from Nick Goodwin, Chief Executive HM Courts and Tribunals to Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of Committee of Public Accounts, 17 March 2023 9 Q 27 10 Qq 28, 105 11 Q 33; Committee of Public Accounts, Transforming courts and tribunals: progress review, Second Report of Session 2019, HC 27, 5 November 2019, paras 4; Committee of Public accounts, Oral evidence: Ministry of Justice Recall, HC 1190, 11 February 2021, Pages 13–14 12 Qq 33–34; C&AG’s Report, para 2.6 and Figure 2 13 Qq 27–34, 85- 86; Letter from Nick Goodwin, Chief Executive HM Courts and Tribunals to Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of Committee of Public Accounts, 17 March 2023 Progress on the courts and tribunals reform programme 11 HMCTS risked undermining public confidence by proceeding with reforms without sufficiently demonstrating that it understood the impact on people or on justice outcomes. We recommended that HMCTS should change its approach to engaging with stakeholders from broadcasting information to genuinely listening and responding to feedback.14 In its response to our report, HMCTS recognised the crucial role that stakeholders play in the design of the reformed services to the success of the programme. It accepted that it needed to do more to engage with stakeholders and ensure that it was listening to their views.15
From: Public Accounts Committee, Sixty-First Report - Progress on the courts and tribunals reform programme (HC 1002), 30 June 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 24 September 2023 (deadline 30 August 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six conclusions, describing five as "Recommendation implemented" and one, on assessing the full cost of the programme, with a target implementation date of December 2023.
- On assurance of plans, the response says the programme is "conducting ongoing reviews of plans", overseen by programme boards and a portfolio board, with updated confidence assessments reported against each portfolio-level milestone.
- On access to justice, it commits to publishing four completed assessments in autumn 2023, with further publications "in 2024 and into 2025". Where impacts are identified, it will do further work and, "where appropriate", implement a service fix.
- On full costs, the government will respond within the six-month deadline, considering the proposed inclusions "where they are within the scope of the programme". It adds that in some cases it will be necessary to rely on estimates.
- On savings, it says delay will mean £50 million fewer recurring annual net savings by the end of 2025-26. The full £227 million is "still expected" a year later than originally expected, by the end of 2026-27.