Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
HMCTS accepted that issues with common platform had caused significant stress for court staff, such as legal advisors, already under pressure to reduce COVID-19 backlogs.26 Despite this, it assured us that it was committed to engaging with users, but it recognised that it needed to improve its approach and that this is essential to delivering the programme’s expected benefits. Both the Ministry and HMCTS recognised that there were lessons to be learned from the rollout of common platform. For example, understanding that introducing technological change also means bringing about cultural change in the way people work. HMCTS also acknowledged that common platform needs to be better than the minimum viable version that it initially rolled out.27Alongside establishing a new common platform feedback mechanism in October 2022, HMCTS told us it was taking steps to improve staff satisfaction scores and user perceptions of common platform. It also planned to monitor progress against this going forward.28 Impact of reforms on users and access to justice
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.