Contractors developing the new online court are to be paid up to £700 a day, the government has revealed. The figure is stated as the maximum the Ministry of Justice will be prepared to pay in a request for bids posted on the government procurement website. It also reveals that the work is 'outside IR35', meaning that contractors will not have income tax deducted at source.

HM Judiciary has announced that the online court pilot will begin in July. According to the notice, the Civil Money Claims project will 'facilitate new processes in the civil court delivering a digital by default solution. It will allow many civil claims to be dealt with online without legal representation and will introduce a new way of issuing and defending claims in the civil court coupled with a move from face to face hearings to telephone/virtual hearings where appropriate'.

It adds: 'The project will make use of new and innovative technology to encourage and support parties to reach resolution earlier in the civil claims procedure.'

To help carry out the current phase and plan the next phase, the ministry is looking for three teams of consultants to work at its headquarters in Petty France, London. Each team will consist of two 'front-end' and two 'back-end' developers. Contractors must will have a minimum of three years' experience including 'working in blended, multi-discipline, multivendor team environments focused on meeting user needs using agile methodologies'. 

The expected contract length is two years. According to specialist website IT Jobswatch the median London rate for an IT consultant is £475 a day.