The NAO report, ‘Progress on the courts and tribunals reform programme’, published last week, highlighted several failures in implementation, singling out the common platform, the digital case management for the criminal courts, which has been affected by repeated delays, as being ‘of most concern’. For example, in September 2022, the rollout was paused after HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) found the system failed to send more than 3,000 ‘important notifications’ to partner agencies between June 2021 and August 2022. As a result of this, in 35 cases an individual was not fitted with an electronic monitoring tag when they should have been.
The NAO said HMCTS’s focus on delivering reforms quickly has created extra burdens for the criminal courts when they were already under pressure. Despite this, the December 2023 deadline for completion is unlikely to be met.
Other problems included that many online divorce and probate cases needed manual interventions by court staff despite the relevant project being marked as complete.
In terms of value for money, the NAO found HMCTS now expects lifetime savings of £2bn from the reforms—£310m lower than estimates in 2019, when the NAO last reported, owing to revised assumptions, design changes and higher ongoing costs.
Nick Vineall KC, chair of the Bar, said: ‘Many of the problems with the court reform programme identified in the NAO report echo the experiences we have heard from barristers on the ground.’
Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘Our concern, reflected in the NAO’s report, is that delays in the courts are being exacerbated by ineffective reforms, which are costing more time and wasting money.’ She called on HMCTS to provide an updated timetable for completion.
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