Courts programme slated

The court modernisation reforms are behind schedule, have an over-optimistic timetable, and fail to adequately consider the needs of vulnerable users, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is three years into its £1.2bn programme and has already extended its timetable to seven years after PAC reported last year that the programme was unlikely to be delivered on time. The reforms will digitise paper-based services, introduce online courts and virtual hearings, centralise customer services and reduce the number of court buildings―127 courts have been closed since 2015 and a further 77 are earmarked for closure in the next phase of reform.

In a devastating report published this week, PAC expresses disappointment that HMCTS has not addressed its concerns about the impact on access to justice, especially for vulnerable people. People with disabilities, on low incomes or living in rural areas are particularly disadvantaged by court closures, it said, yet HMCTS was not doing enough to understand the impact before pressing ahead with reforms. Although some digitised services like divorce seemed to be working well, representatives from lawyers’ organisations were concerned about how people with low digital or legal literacy would access online services.

PAC warned that plans to increase police numbers could spike demand as more people are prosecuted, putting greater strain on already stretched services.

Meg Hillier MP, chair of PAC, said: ‘HMCTS must ensure that further reforms, particularly those that include closing more courts do not mean citizens lose access to justice which would undermine public confidence in the fairness of the justice system.’

The modernisation programme has also come under fire from the Justice Select Committee. In a report last week on ‘Court and Tribunal Reforms’, MPs warned the court system was ‘in administrative chaos, with serious staff shortages threatening to compromise the fairness of proceedings’, and planned ‘deeper staffing cuts’ must not go ahead. It expressed concern about poor digital skills and access to justice, recommended the use of ‘pop-up courts’ in non-traditional buildings and called for a halt to court closures until the impact of previous closures has been assessed.