Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Crown Court caseload data previously unreliable due to Common Platform errors
Conclusion
MoJ confirmed that it had identified three factors that caused it to pause publication of its Crown Court caseload data from June to December 2024. It had found that case records in Common Platform (the new digital case management system for the criminal justice system) had been adversely affected through human error, technical systems issues and data coding issues. It undertook two actions to rectify these issues: it checked how data was being input into Common Platform, and it commissioned an external review of the quality of Crown Court caseload data.84 MoJ and HMCTS assured us that following these actions, they now have a significant level of confidence in Crown Court data.85 HMCTS told us that it now undertakes more thorough user testing before releasing new features in Common Platform.86
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 16 May 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗