Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Accepted
Ineffective trials still caused by poor case preparation and prisoner transport failures.
Conclusion
We heard from HMCTS of other reasons for ineffective trials that would appear to have simple solutions.68 We heard how organisations contracted to transport prisoners fail to get all defendants from prison to court on time, incurring a financial penalty if the defendant arrives more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start of court proceedings.69 Poor case preparation was also cited by MoJ as a major contributing factor to ineffective trials, and we heard from HMCTS how this was a long standing issue that had been considered by the original Leveson Review in 2015.70 We heard that MoJ and HMCTS are expecting the current Leveson Review to “endorse and enhance” the principles for better case management that the 2015 review set out.71 Ministry of Justice’s spending on the Crown Court backlog
Government Response Summary
The government states it agrees with the Committee's conclusions and claims the underlying recommendation regarding issues causing ineffective trials, such as prisoner transport and case preparation, has been implemented as of April 2025, with further details provided in a separate letter.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: April 2025 5.2 In response to this recommendation, the Ministry of Justice has written to the Committee alongside this Treasury Minute response.