Recommendation 12

We have previously reported on HMCTS’s £1.2 billion programme to modernise courts, a very ambitious programme aiming to change how people access justice using more technology, closing courts and centralising customer service. We were concerned that HMCTS was at risk of falling behind schedule despite extending its timetable from four to six years, and that the pace of reform and pressure to make savings was limiting HMCTS’s ability to evaluate the impact on users and justice outcomes, particularly for vulnerable users.15 The Ministry and HMCTS told us that despite the pandemic, the programme is in its final stages and will not require a further extension to its timetable. They told us that some parts of the programme, including video hearings, were accelerated during the pandemic and that about 20,000 video hearings were now taking place each week. The Ministry and HMCTS told us they were confident that the parts of the programme that are behind schedule are within the contingencies they had planned for.16 They were also confident that, with regards to the reunification of probation services, that private sector suppliers will maintain their services until the handover in June 2021, but that they had contingency plans in place should a supplier fail before that time.17