Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
We recognise the long overdue move towards bringing data on the criminal justice system together,...
Recommendation
We recognise the long overdue move towards bringing data on the criminal justice system together, although it is not clear how the Department will use this to improve performance. In December 2021, the Department published a national scorecard and an adult rape scorecard that bring together data on performance across the criminal justice system, including on the size of the backlog, timeliness and victim attrition. The Department plans to also produce local scorecards at the police force level. In a complex system with multiple organisations, the use of scorecards to drive performance risks creating perverse incentives as organisations focus disproportionately on the metrics that the Department has selected to publish. The Department and HMCTS do not yet have the data they need to fully understand and manage the flow of cases. Both are relying on a new case management system to address these gaps, although HMCTS has currently paused the roll-out of this system. Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should set out how the data it has developed and published will lead to improvements in performance and victims’ experiences. 8 Reducing the backlog in criminal courts 1 Capacity in the criminal courts
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2023 6.2 The first local criminal justice system scorecards for all crime and adult rape were published in March 2022, bringing together data from across the system for the first time. The scorecards will be published on a quarterly basis to increase transparency, increase understanding of the system, and support collaboration particularly at a local level. 6.3 As part of the wider programme of work on the criminal justice system, the department has recently overhauled its governance structures to increase accountability and drive forward progress in priority areas. These groups will be responsible for ensuring the scorecard is a valuable tool which will facilitate a shared cross-system understanding of progress across the system, and support collaboration both at a national and local level. 6.4 In collecting and presenting this data in one place, the government fully recognises the operational independence of those organisations which have provided data. The transparency that the scorecards offer enables collaboration by providing a cross-system view of progress, including measures that matter to victims, such as how long it takes cases to progress. 6.5 Metrics in the scorecard are grouped in priority areas aligning with the outcomes the government commits to achieve, in partnership with criminal justice system agencies: improving timeliness, increasing victim engagement and improving quality. 6.6 The department hopes to improve victim experience and reduce the number of victims dropping out of the system. The scorecards will measure, for example, the percentage of investigations that are closed because a victim withdraws support before an investigation is completed. This will allow the department to ensure that victims are supported in the best possible way whilst they engage with the criminal justice system. 6.7 The department will use the data in the scorecard to identify and understand disparities across local and regional areas, enabling the sharing of best practice to help local criminal justice agencies drive improvements. 6.8 The scorecards represent a transformative change to the way data is used to ensure a common understanding of the criminal justice system. The department has ambitious plans to significantly improve the quality of data, and is currently developing better metrics to measure progress, especially around victim experience. The scorecards are iterative and will be improved as further insights are gained on the indicators which best reflect the whole system.