The Ministry of Justice wrote off £18m in developing a new courts case management system – a consequence of reform projects that go on for years, senior civil servants have told MPs.
Kevin Sadler, acting chief executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service, told the Commons justice select committee on Tuesday that national rollout of Common Platform, which was paused last summer, will resume shortly. Sadler told the committee that the system will enable defence practitioners to access CPS information quickly, and limit the scope for misunderstandings and errors throughout the system.
Labour’s Maria Eagle MP asked how a £18.35m ‘constructive loss’ revealed in the department’s 2020/2021 annual report could fit into the rollout and increase efficiency.
MoJ permanent secretary Antonia Romeo replied: ‘One of the consequences of programmes that go on for a long time – a lot of work had been done to develop something that would have the CPS fully integrated into the Common Platform. They did a review, looked at their detailed requirements, and it led to a write-off of £18m for work that had been done to get them integrated but they then did not need because they had another system.’
Sadler added: ‘You’re writing a long list of requirements for the external suppliers to produce an IT system. By the time it’s delivered three or four years later, the requirements have changed but the supplier says “I’ve delivered what you asked for”.’
Sadler said it was ‘better for everyone and better for the criminal justice system’ to take the constructive loss and design a system that met today’s needs rather than ones three or four years ago.
Earlier this year the ministry revealed that it had spent £236m on Common Platform, which has been beset by problems and prompted a union representing court staff to consider strike action.
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