Significant problems mark postponement of Rolls Building e-working project
A major project to introduce e-working in the Rolls Building has been shelved due to “significant problems”.
About £9.5m has been spent on the project since work began in November 2008. It aimed to enable court users to submit documents electronically, and was the joint initiative of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The Rolls Building, which houses the Chancery Division, the Admiralty and Commercial Court, and the Technology and Construction Court, opened on London’s Fetter Lane late last year.
Tim Pollen, senior operational manager at the Rolls Building, said: “Initial good progress was made. However, over the last 12–18 months, significant problems with the system began to emerge. The seriousness of those problems has now become apparent, as has the likely cost of remediation. HMCTS and MoJ ICT remain fully committed to delivering, at the earliest opportunity, an electronic filing, document-management and listing system to support the jurisdictions of the Rolls Building. Planning for that is now underway and a new project will be initiated through the standard government-procurement and cabinet-office-approvals processes. Work is now underway to plan for an orderly shutdown of the system.”
An HMCTS spokesperson says: “A fundamental review of the project was carried out which identified a number of serious issues. We subsequently concluded that the scope of the works required was so significant that a business case for continuing with the system could not be made.”
