Inadequate IT systems in Crown Courts mean staff are having to spend 12 hours a month on administrative work re-keying data, at a cost of £300,000 a year.

The CREST system, which has been used to manage cases in the Crown Court for 20 years, has operational risks as the software is no longer supported by the manufacturer, according to a National Audit Office report on the Administration of the Crown Court.

The report said: ‘Cases need to be manually re-entered into CREST when they are passed from magistrates’ courts to the Crown Court increasing administrative costs.’

The report said courts spend nine minutes per case re-keying data from the magistrates’ files. For a busy court, which receives around 80 cases a month, this amounts to 12 hours of administrative time, costing the service £300,000 a year.

The service introduced XHIBIT in 2006, which records the progress of hearings. Its effectiveness ‘has been hampered by speed and stability problems’ on Mondays and Fridays, when courts are processing a higher number of cases, the NAO said.

The report also criticises the absence of a ‘staffing model’ at the service, citing ‘weaknesses’ in learning and development programmes. Court staff had also expressed concern about a reduction in the quality of candidates being identified for interview.

Her Majesty’s Courts Service said: ‘While CREST is a mature system it is still very stable and supports the work of the Crown Court effectively. HMCS is working with suppliers to re-platform CREST, by 2011, and ensure improvements to the system and its reliability.’

The service added that a series of technical upgrades will be implemented to improve the ‘speed and reliability’ of XHIBIT.