MoJ recall

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 27 Jan 2021 Closed: 28 Jun 2021 Parliament page
The Committee will question senior officials from the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Her Majesty’s Prison Service on a range of current issues in the Department’s remit including the impact of Covid 19 on courts and prisons; the HMCTS transformation programme and the prison estate. … Read more
1 Recommendation
17 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
2 Sep
2021
Report published
24 Mar
2021
Report published
8 Mar
2021
Correspondence
11 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
11 Feb
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
11 Feb 2021
View on parliament.uk
MoJ recall; NAO Estimate and Strategy
Antonia Romeo · Ministry of Justice Daniel Lambauer · National Audit Office Gareth Davies · Department for Transport James McEwen · Ministry of Justice Jo Farrar · HM Prison and Probation Service Kevin Sadler · Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Second Report - Key challenges facing the Ministry of Just… HC 1190 24 Mar 2021 18 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
18 results
2 Recommendation
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The pandemic has significantly impacted the wellbeing and life chances of prisoners, making it critical...
The pandemic has significantly impacted the wellbeing and life chances of prisoners, making it critical that the Ministry and HMPPS accelerate their work to improve the mental health of prisoners. The need for restrictive regimes to maintain social distancing in … Read more
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We have limited confidence in the Ministry’s plans for reducing the backlog in the court...
We have limited confidence in the Ministry’s plans for reducing the backlog in the court system, particularly in criminal courts. The backlog in criminal courts was growing before the pandemic, and many organisations have warned that it could take years … Read more
Government Response
agree with the conclusion that there was huge local variation. NHS Digital and DHSC have already written to the Committee with an initial analysis of the local variation in growth … Read more
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
Despite previous warnings, the Ministry and HMCTS do not yet have a firm grip on...
Despite previous warnings, the Ministry and HMCTS do not yet have a firm grip on the data they need to understand how effective the court reform programme is or its impact on users. Despite past delays, the Ministry says that … Read more
Government Response
agree with the conclusion that a centrally directed system was chosen because of a lack of confidence in local authorities. Councils are crucial partners in delivery of shielding support to … Read more
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We remain concerned that the maintenance backlog poses a real threat to achieving a safe...
We remain concerned that the maintenance backlog poses a real threat to achieving a safe and secure prison estate able to accommodate future prison populations. The latest spending review settlement included a welcome boost of £4 billion in capital spending … Read more
Government Response
5: PAC conclusion: We remain concerned that the maintenance backlog poses a real threat to achieving a safe and secure prison estate able to accommodate future prison populations. 5: PAC … Read more
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
Despite the efforts of staff during the pandemic, there are clear signs of strain on...
Despite the efforts of staff during the pandemic, there are clear signs of strain on people working across courts and tribunals, prisons and probation services. We remain concerned about the unprecedented pressures facing frontline staff at this time. HMPPS says … Read more
Government Response
2021. This is the Government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: management of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund – Session 2019-21 (HC 1130) • PAC report: … Read more
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We took evidence from the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) and its executive agencies, HM...
We took evidence from the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) and its executive agencies, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) on the challenges facing the justice system, including courts, prisons and probation services. Read more
Government Response
Introduction from the Committee The Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) and its executive agencies, including HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), are responsible … Read more
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The Ministry and HMPPS have a duty of care to those in prisons.
The Ministry and HMPPS have a duty of care to those in prisons. We have reported in the past that improving the mental health of prisoners is a difficult and complex task, and that it is essential to reducing reoffending … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The pandemic has significantly impacted the wellbeing and life chances of prisoners, making it critical that the Ministry and HMPPS accelerate their work to improve the mental … Read more
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
HMPPS’ data shows that during 2020, there were 67 self-inflicted deaths in custody, and 58,879...
HMPPS’ data shows that during 2020, there were 67 self-inflicted deaths in custody, and 58,879 self-harm incidents in the 12 months to September 2020. We heard from HMPPS that while these levels are high, they are showing signs of declining. … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The pandemic has significantly impacted the wellbeing and life chances of prisoners, making it critical that the Ministry and HMPPS accelerate their work to improve the mental … Read more
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the court system, exacerbating an already growing...
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the court system, exacerbating an already growing backlog in cases, particularly in the criminal courts. Stakeholders are concerned that it could take years to clear the backlog that has now accumulated. The … Read more
Government Response
3: PAC conclusion: We have limited confidence in the Ministry’s plans for reducing the backlog in the court system, particularly in criminal courts. 3: PAC recommendation: The Ministry should write … Read more
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
Government has also committed additional funding to support the court system to reduce the backlogs,...
Government has also committed additional funding to support the court system to reduce the backlogs, including by making court rooms safe through the installation of plexiglass and introducing 40 Nightingale courts, with plans to increase this by a further 20 … Read more
Government Response
3.3 The Permanent Secretary wrote to the Committee on 18 May 2021 providing an update on recent progress and current plans, and the Lord Chancellor has been clear that he … Read more
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The Ministry appears to place significant focus on the ability of technology to manage the...
The Ministry appears to place significant focus on the ability of technology to manage the increased demand on the court system, through remote hearings and other technology-based initiatives it says will drive up productivity. It told us that user feedback … Read more
Government Response
4.2 Managing the impact of COVID-19 required HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to adjust its approach to delivering the reform programme. Some services were ramped up more quickly, whilst … Read more
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We have previously reported on HMCTS’s £1.2 billion programme to modernise courts, a very ambitious...
We have previously reported on HMCTS’s £1.2 billion programme to modernise courts, a very ambitious programme aiming to change how people access justice using more technology, closing courts and centralising customer service. We were concerned that HMCTS was at risk … Read more
Government Response
4.2 Managing the impact of COVID-19 required HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to adjust its approach to delivering the reform programme. Some services were ramped up more quickly, whilst … Read more
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The Ministry’s new accounting officer told us of her commitment to collect good quality, consistent...
The Ministry’s new accounting officer told us of her commitment to collect good quality, consistent data to support the reform programme, including data on user satisfaction and justice outcomes. While we welcome this renewed commitment, we are disappointed that the … Read more
Government Response
4: PAC conclusion: Despite previous warnings, the Ministry and HMCTS do not yet have a firm grip on the data they need to understand how effective the court reform programme … Read more
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The 2020 spending review included £4 billion in capital funding to support the provision of...
The 2020 spending review included £4 billion in capital funding to support the provision of 18,000 new prison places over four years. But beyond this isolated multi-year commitment, the one-year spending review settlement makes it difficult for the Ministry and … Read more
Government Response
5.2 The department closely monitors prison population forecasts to ensure the prison estate has sufficient capacity to meet future demand, and regularly works with our partners across the criminal justice … Read more
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We have previously reported that the Ministry and HMPPS’ management of the prison estate has...
We have previously reported that the Ministry and HMPPS’ management of the prison estate has resulted in a staggering backlog of maintenance work.21 The backlog in maintenance is now estimated at £1 billion. The recent spending review included £315 million … Read more
Government Response
5.4 The department's Spending Review settlement for 2021-22 will provide £315 million in capital funding in this financial year to improve the condition of the existing estate. This welcome increase … Read more
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
We received evidence from the Bar Council raising concerns around the safety of court staff...
We received evidence from the Bar Council raising concerns around the safety of court staff during the pandemic. A recent survey they conducted showed 84% of barristers who attended court in December 2020 had concerns about their safety and wellbeing.23 … Read more
Government Response
6.2 The department agrees with the Committee that its staff are at the heart of delivering a world-class justice system and that they have performed extraordinarily during the course of … Read more
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
The pandemic and increasing demand on the justice system will continue to put pressure on...
The pandemic and increasing demand on the justice system will continue to put pressure on staff who are at the heart of ensuring prisons are well run, court backlogs are addressed, and probation services are effective. HMPPS told us of … Read more
Government Response
6.2 The department agrees with the Committee that its staff are at the heart of delivering a world-class justice system and that they have performed extraordinarily during the course of … Read more
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion
Fifty-Second Report - Key challeng…
HMPPS assured us that as the programme to reunify probation services was on scheduled to...
HMPPS assured us that as the programme to reunify probation services was on scheduled to complete in June 2021. It told us that it was consistently monitoring the caseloads of probations officers but that these remain high. HMPPS told us … Read more
HM Treasury
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Correspondence 1 letter
8 Mar 2021 Correspondence from Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, re follow-up letter MoJ recall, dated 3 March 2021
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