HMCTS are ‘rebalancing’ their operational priorities

HMCTS have announced that whilst working alongside their justice partners, they have made significant progress towards the vision for reform which they set out in 2016. With their core principles that have underpinned their work to date, still being – to be just, proportionate and accessible.

To start with they have announced that they have continued to successfully modernise 14 services and have received over 2.4 million digital applications since 2019. Satisfaction scores from those using those services remain high, they said.

They have also installed video technology to the majority of courtrooms, improved the user experience by creating five new service centres and introduced Common Platform to all criminal courts so that case information can be managed and shared more effectively.

Nick Goodwin, Chief Executive of HMCTS said:

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and the positive outcomes for our users. Our priority now is to ensure a stable operational environment in which we continue to improve at a steady pace.”

In a blog published on the Inside HMCTS part of the website, Nick Goodwin provided the following statement comments on the 5 headings below.

Priorities and plans for the year ahead

Goodwin has commented:

“We’ll continue to:

• Deliver the final phase of the Reform Programme and fulfil its original vision.
• Perform at our best and provide quality services to the people that need them.
• Create a stable environment in which we can continue to improve at a steady pace.

We’ve looked at our organisational capacity and pressures on our operations and heard feedback from our staff and partners. We’ve taken account of the challenging operating environment. We’ve considered wider pressures, such as long-lasting impacts of the pandemic, number of outstanding cases and the rising cost of living – all affect us as an organisation.

As a result, we now need to adjust our plans, particularly for some aspects of the Reform Programme, which was originally scoped at a time when caseloads were lower. The choices we’re making now will maximise efficiency and functionality of our technology.

This will help us to provide a more consistent and reliable service to those seeking access to justice through our courts and tribunals, as well as stabilise the experience for all those who use our systems.”

Rebalancing our approach

Goodwin said:

“To ease the pressure on the business and to ensure continued success, we are extending the overall programme to March 2025. And to ensure the stability we need, we’ll no longer deliver some parts of it as we had planned. This will allow us to get the current systems and processes to perform to their maximum capacity and ability before adding more.

We also need to spend more time making sure that our processes and ways of working align fully with the technological change. We cannot do one without the other and we have seen the consequences of getting this wrong in the past.

In revising our plans, we have the support of the Lord Chancellor, the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals.”

Revising the remaining scope of Common Platform

Goodwin added:

“We’ve revised our plans for delivering additional functionality in Common Platform, the principal case management system in the criminal courts. The platform has received over 1.3 million cases since going live in 2020.

We will focus on fixing and enhancing the existing system, improving stability and the experience of those who use it.

We’ll not proceed with all aspects of the two releases known as ‘releases 2 and 3’ but will continue with some standalone elements which have already been built, specifically the introduction of digital cracked and ineffective trial forms and the functionality to allow judges to validate sentences.

We’ll retain the Crown Court Digital Case System (known as DCS), identifying ways we can enhance it in future, while making sure it works effectively alongside Common Platform.”

Extending development in the civil, family and tribunal programme to March 2025

Goodwin stated:

“Reforms in Civil and Family Private Law are the largest and most complex in the programme. As a result, we will extend the completion date for all development for the overall programme from March 2024 to March 2025. Implementation activity will continue throughout 2025 for civil reform.

Our plans still include digitising warrants of control to enforce County Court Judgments. They’ll be issued using the new Online Civil Money Claims service, similar to the legacy Money Claims On Line service. All other civil enforcement changes will be removed from our plans.

These changes will allow us to get the technology right, to integrate systems, and give ourselves and our partners the time needed to adjust to new ways of working.”

Improving our estate

Goodwin said:

“We’re making progress on a number of significant property developments. A newly refurbished site in Leeds includes new employment tribunal rooms and construction is underway to create Business and Property Court hearing rooms.

The construction of the City of London’s state-of-the art courthouse, comprising civil, magistrates’ and Crown courtrooms, is also well underway.

Funding of £220 million to enhance our maintenance programme between 2023 and 2025 is enabling us to deliver more than 200 improvement projects across England and Wales. This will make a difference to the resilience, reliability, accessibility, comfort and environmental impact of our court and tribunal buildings.

Last week we announced the extension of 20 Nightingale courtrooms to increase capacity in our estate where operationally necessary.

While challenges remain, we’re making progress and reducing the risk of site closures while building resilience into the estate.”

Preparing for the future

Goodwin commented that more detailed plans for individual jurisdictions will follow:

“For all jurisdictions, we’ll set out more details about plans for the next year in follow-up blogs to be published over the coming week.

I’m confident that in making these changes to our operations, we’ve created a solid foundation for the future of the justice system. We’ll continue to work together to change and improve. We’ll not stand still as we strive to complete reform, perform at our best and prepare our services for the next generation.

Our dedicated staff and many partners across the justice system all have a role to play in this and I’m grateful for your continued support.”