Introduction
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Against a backdrop of financial and operational pressure to improve the administration of the justice system, in 2016 HMCTS established a six-year, £1.2 billion portfolio of change programmes to modernise and upgrade the courts and tribunals system. The reforms aim to alter the way criminal, family and civil courts and tribunals operate by introducing new technology and working practices and changing the way HMCTS uses its buildings and staff. By March 2023, HMCTS expects that 2.4 million cases per year will be dealt with outside physical courtrooms, it will employ 5,000 fewer staff. HMCTS expects to save £265 million a year from these changes, which will come from lower administration and judicial costs, fewer physical hearings and running a smaller court estate. These savings are expected to contribute around half of the total savings the Ministry of Justice committed to in the 2015 Spending Review.
Published: 20 July 2018