Video technology will still play an important part in the courts system despite a report criticising the costs of the virtual courts pilot, the government has said.

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said in a statement that the report on a year-long pilot showed that virtual courts work and are worth further development.

The Ministry of Justice report, released earlier this week, found that the pilot was successful in reducing the average time from charge to first hearing, failure to appear rates, and prisoner transportation and police cell costs – but that these savings were exceeded by costs of the pilot, and particularly those associated with the technology used.

The Law Society said that it would be ‘wholly irresponsible’ to roll out virtual courts nationally in light of the report’s findings.

Djanogly said in his statement: ‘The government is committed to reforming the courts service to deliver a modern, efficient justice system. Greater use of video technology will play an important part in that work.

‘The purpose of the virtual courts pilot was to test whether the process could work and whether it was worth further development. The evaluation has shown this to be the case.

‘Virtual courts continue to operate for a trial period in existing locations with a rigorous focus on achieving value for money, improving the operating model and further evaluating their effectiveness.’