Common Platform is a strong foundation for the future

Common Platform is now live in every criminal court in England and Wales. Completing the national rollout marks a major milestone in our plans to modernise the criminal justice system and, and while there’s a lot more to be done to improve and enhance the system, the principal building block is now in place.

Common Platform is a custom-built, digital system for managing criminal cases. It will transform the way the criminal justice system uses, manages and shares information and will give all the parties involved in a criminal case quicker and more efficient access to up-to-the-minute case details.

This is a huge step forward, and I want to thank everyone involved for their support in getting here. From our own staff at HMCTS and the judiciary, to legal professionals, the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Legal Aid Agency, Prison and Probation Service and everybody else in between, it has been a collective effort. We wouldn’t have come this far without the contributions, collaboration and constructive challenge of our partners across the justice system.

I know that the journey from the very first courts in Derby adopting the system in September 2020 to this point has been challenging. While it’s been a hard road at times, we have learned lessons along the way and shouldn’t underestimate how far we’ve come.

Before we started this project, partners across the criminal justice system were all using different systems to process information. Our own technology platforms were coming to the end of their useful life and couldn’t sustain the work we needed them to do in future. Many processes were paper-based, which meant we were reliant on documents being printed out or waiting for information to be emailed between agencies - slowing cases down. Change was vital if we were to collectively provide a criminal justice system that is fit for the future and accessible for all who use it.

But this is not just change, it’s transformation. The scale of what we’ve achieved together is unprecedented and paves the way for the further improvements still to come.

We have started to create a more joined up system, one that will be digital end-to-end with case materials available to each party in one place for the very first time, so we can deliver swifter justice for victims, defendants and the public.

Thanks to recent improvements, HMCTS, the police and the CPS are now all able to use the same Unique Reference Number (URN) to identify a case, while Preparation for Effective Trial (PET) and Better Case Management (BCM) forms can be completed digitally in the courtroom. Notices, Orders and Warrants are automatically sent to the relevant justice partners. Police forces now receive instant notification of Crown Court results, enabling swifter updating of the Police National Computer, and it’s simpler to transfer cases between the magistrates’ and Crown Courts.

As we add new features to the system it will continue to improve, reducing the time needed to process cases and improving information sharing and data accuracy across the justice system. Upcoming changes include digital Crown Court case progression, document management and more. We will gradually move Single Justice Service cases from our legacy system to Common Platform and extend the scope of this service to include more police and non-police prosecutors. At the same time, we’ll fix any identified defects, which will be our principal task in the months ahead.

Getting used to a new system is always difficult, especially one this ambitious, and I don’t underestimate how hard some have found this process. However, when I reflect on all we have achieved so far - the improvements in joined-up working we’ve already started to see across the criminal justice system and the benefits this is delivering for those who encounter the criminal court system - I remain confident that this was the right thing to do.

Together, we have created a strong foundation for the future of the criminal justice system. With your continued support, we’ll continue to build upon this, delivering a modernised justice system that is just, proportionate and accessible for all who use it.

Nick Goodwin is chief executive officer, HM Courts & Tribunals Service 

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