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I think the Public Accounts Committee report on the progress of the reform programme should be standard reading for all Solicitors. If you haven’t read it you really ought to. Then for a laugh read the HMCTS response.

The reform programme is based upon this, in essence: there will be investment so long as there are savings through greater use of IT/AI. Unsurprisingly Senior Judges have jumped on the IT/AI reform bandwagon in the hope that the investment will be forth-coming.

This is a mistake. The Judiciary-along with all professionals involved in Justice-should be demanding proper investment along with planned and properly funded improvements to the Justice systems (which would include better IT and AI) but without any watering down of our systems. If we need more Judges then appoint more Judges. If there is delay then increase the sitting days. Don’t close Courts-open more Courts. Don’t remove people from the Court process to a virtual world-make access to a Judge quicker and easier (by appointing more Judges and increasing the sitting days). Ignore the legal futurists and listen to the professionals who actually work in the Justice systems.
A doubling of the Justice budget would result in spending which is 0.2% of all Government spend.
We may be talking big numbers but in the context of the Government’s budget it is small change-yet Justice is one of the most important pillars of civilisation-and we are told how much-admired English Justice is across the world. Shame or Government doesnt fund it properly or value it. Shame we have Ministers who repeat parrot fashion what the civil servants tell them and don’t stand up for Justice and argue with HM Treasury for more resources (0.2% of all Government spending).
I really don’t think the CEO of HMCTS, the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency-and HM Treasury-have any real idea of the reality and of the mess they have created and if they didn’t create it, are perpetuating.

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