Court Reforms – A Progress Report

Update on the Ambitious Court Reforms Initiated in 2016

In 2016, HMCTS launched an ambitious portfolio of reforms later brought together to form the courts and tribunals reform programme. It aims to modernise the justice system by reducing complexity and providing new ways for people to engage.

HMCTS intends to achieve this by introducing new technology and working practices, moving activity out of the courtroom, streamlining processes and introducing online services.

So, how is it going?

The National Audit Office (‘NAO’) has examined progress on the reform project and made the following observations:

Since the NAO last reported in 2019, HMCTS has continued to make progress delivering its reforms. These include rolling out video hearings quickly in response to the pandemic, more online services and introducing new digital systems to courts. But problems occurred due to the pandemic and projects being more complex than HMCTS expected.

Savings From the Reforms

HMCTS now expects lifetime savings of £2bn from the reforms. This is £310mn lower than estimates in 2019 owing to revised assumptions, design changes and higher ongoing costs.

HMCTS also now expects to see recurrent savings from reform in 2025-26, a year later than when the NAO last reported. These may be delayed further if HMCTS goes ahead with further changes.

Are the Reforms Delivering?

HMCTS has a limited understanding of whether reforms are delivering intended efficiencies. While it recorded a net total of £311mn in savings from running costs between 2014-15 and 2021-22, it acknowledges that these figures may not be fully attributable to reform. Costs of running many services are higher than pre-reform and it lacks routine data on how efficiently reformed services are operating.

Some services are not yet operating as expected.

How We Can Help

As a firm, we see the problems daily and carefully ensure that impacts on clients are mitigated. We will continue to monitor the progress on the reforms and report on them as we get more information. In the meantime, if you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to call us on 0161 477 1121 or email us.