Thread by @PenelopeGibbs2

this thread is simply of verbatim quotes from damning report on the £1.2 billion digital court reform programme (justice by skype, swipe right to plead guilty etc) from @CommonsPAC publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cm…

We have little confidence HMCTS can successfully deliver this hugely ambitious programme to bring court system into the modern age. While other countries have attempted elements of what HMCTS is doing, no other country has attempted to change its whole system at this scale/pace.

HMCTS has failed to articulate clearly what the transformed justice system would look like, limiting stakeholders’ ability to plan for & influence changes. HMCTS unable to explain what transformed justice system wld look like & how would measure if changes delivered successfully

Despite the revised timescale, HMCTS’s imperative to deliver at such a fast pace risks not allowing time for meaningful consultation or evaluation and could lead to unintended consequences

Reps of the legal profession are concerned HMCTS is ploughing ahead without evaluating the impact of changes on user access to justice or consulting properly with stakeholders. Reps told us HMCTS was paying “lip service” to engagement, not than listening to and acting on concerns

HMCTS has not adequately considered how the reforms will impact access to, and the fairness of, the justice system for the people using it, many of whom are vulnerable. We are concerned that the reforms are being pursued at the possible expense of people’s access to fair justice.

HMCTS has already closed 258 courts between 2010–11 and December 2017. These courts have been closed before moving services online, meaning that many people are having to travel further to access justice.

We're concerned HMCTS told us a great deal about processes & products & not enough about how the changes might affect people. We share concerns raised by legal professionals that, without sufficient access to legal advice, people could make uninformed and inappropriate decisions.

One third of the way through the programme, the Ministry of Justice still does not understand the financial implications of its planned changes on the wider justice system. HMCTS expects to save £265 million a year through its planned changes to the courts and tribunal system.

We remain concerned that the Ministry of Justice is taking on significant amount of change, without a clear sense of its priorities, at a time when it is facing severe financial and demand pressures. #thelawisbroken

Now closed Bury St Edmunds Mags Court