Court Capacity

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 30 Jul 2020 Closed: 14 Sep 2023 Parliament page
This inquiry is looking at the capacity of the court system and how it can address delays to cases being heard. The number of delays has grown significantly due to the covid-19 pandemic. It will examine: How these delays can be addressed The practical experience of these delays for lawyers, … Read more
20 Recommendations
13 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 14 events
7 Jul
2022
Report published
27 Apr
2022
Report published
23 Jul
2021
Correspondence
24 Mar
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
16 Mar
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
2 Mar
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
23 Feb
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
9 Feb
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
4 Feb
2021
Correspondence
26 Jan
2021
Formal meeting · Virtual meeting
12 Jan
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
24 Nov
2020
Correspondence
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixth report - Court capacity HC 69 27 Apr 2022 33 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
2 results
Clear
28 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Sixth report - Court capacity
Develop a Family Justice action plan to expand capacity and improve timeliness by 2025.
We are concerned by the growing number of cases in the Family Court. The Government should develop a Family Justice action plan to address this problem. The action plan should set out how the Government will expand the capacity of … Read more
Government Response
The government responded by referencing its existing HMCTS recovery plan (published in Nov 2020) which included plans and targets for increased capacity and efficiency. They outlined actions taken, such as record judicial sitting days and ambitious judicial recruitment, and identified six new priorities for the Family Justice Board to address private and public law challenges.
Ministry of Justice
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31 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Sixth report - Court capacity
Confirm Core Case Data rollout timeline and publish local civil justice scorecards for transparency.
We welcome the Government’s ambition to improve the use of digital technology in the County Courts. We would ask the Government to confirm the timeline for the rollout of Core Case Data. Once the data is available, the Government should … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted in part, confirming the civil reform project is due to run until March 2023, during which an end-to-end reformed service for civil money claims using Core Case Data (CCD) is expected, with reform for other claims also commencing; however, the request to publish local civil justice scorecards was not addressed.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 33 of 20 classified
Accepted 12
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 18
Total 20 recs + 13 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
23 Jul 2021 Criminal law roundtable transcript 8 February 2021
Parliament page
4 Feb 2021 From committee Letter to the Lord Chancellor, dated 3 February 2021, regarding the situation in the Crown Court
Parliament page
24 Nov 2020 To committee Letter from Sir Robert Neill MP, Chair, Justice Committee to Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, dated 19 November 2020, on funding for the courts in England and Wales
Parliament page
24 Nov 2020 To committee Letter from Sir Robert Neill MP, Chair, Justice Committee to Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, dated 19 November 2020, on funding for the court reform programme
Parliament page
8 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, dated 1 July 2020 on capital investment in Courts and Prisons
Parliament page