Common Platform 2022-11-22
2022-11-22
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The Common Platform is a new IT system for criminal courts in England and Wales. Issues with its implementation have been raised.
What steps he is taking to improve the performance of the Common Platform?
We have rolled out the Common Platform at 173 criminal courts in England and Wales and 76% of courts are now live. It has improved the format and timeliness of outcomes of hearings generated and shared with our criminal justice partner agencies and removed the need for staff to re-key information across different IT systems.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address specific steps taken to improve performance
Providing General Progress Instead Of Specific Steps
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The Common Platform has been criticised for its high costs and negative impact on legal jobs. The Lord Chief Justice has also raised concerns.
The Common Platform has been nothing short of a disaster—one quarter of a billion wasted on a project that was fundamentally flawed from the start and designed primarily to slash thousands of highly skilled legal jobs. Even the Lord Chief Justice has raised serious concerns recently to the Justice Committee. Is it not time the Minister held up his hands, admitted this was a mistake and told His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to build a better system that focuses on delivering justice instead of wasting money in such a damaging and short-sighted way?
The simple answer to that question is no.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address any of the criticisms raised or admit any issues with the Common Platform
Providing A Dismissive Response
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
Staff at courts, including those in Luton, went on strike over the flawed Common Platform IT system. Trade unions have also raised concerns.
Last month, staff at courts across the country, including the magistrates court in Luton, went on strike—not over pay or pensions, but because the Common Platform IT system is so flawed that it is effectively unusable. That should have been enough to make the Government sit up and take notice, but if the Minister will not listen to his own workers and their trade union, the Public and Commercial Services Union, maybe he will listen to the judges who are speaking out? One judge called the Common Platform “completely unsuitable” and “not fit for purpose”. Does the Minister agree?
No, I do not agree. All new IT systems take time to bed down and officials continue to work with user groups, both staff within the criminal justice system and judges. The system replaces eight legacy systems that are at the end of their lives, support for which is being withdrawn.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not directly address concerns raised by workers or agree with judge's statements
General Explanation Instead Of Direct Agreement/Disagreement
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner notes that the Common Platform is supposed to help track cases but fails in recording guilty pleas. He suggests practical changes are needed.
The Minister is of course right to say that we need to modernise and improve IT systems and replace the legacy systems, but will he sit down and talk in some detail with users of the system, both judges and practitioners? For example, a platform that is unable to record whether a case concludes in a guilty plea will not be very much help in tracking the progress of cases or improving listing at a time when we have massive backlogs. Practical changes are surely what is needed.
My hon. Friend makes a good point. I am always happy to speak to staff groups and my legal friends in the justice system to iron out any particular issues, but the roll-out of the Common Platform needs to continue.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide specific commitments or timelines for meetings with users
General Willingness Instead Of Concrete Plans
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The Common Platform was intended to improve court efficiency but has led to chaos, increased backlogs, and high costs. The questioner wants transparency on spending.
Oh dear, dear, what a mess: our courts systems were in chaos before the pandemic, and now it is much worse, with some cases taking years to come to court and remand numbers at record levels. The Common Platform was supposed to make courts more efficient, but fails in everything from recording criminal convictions to getting crucial data to the Registry Trust on time. Worst of all, it is having an adverse effect on people's lives, including those who use it. Costs have soared from £236 million to more than £300 million, with Ministers ready to pay an IT firm another £20 million for product enhancements. Will the Minister tell us where the money has gone, why the system has not been sorted and whether he will pause the roll-out until it is?
I point out that the backlogs were on a downward trajectory until the Criminal Bar Association action. The roll-out of the Common Platform is a necessary part of modernising our systems, and I am confident that we will ensure that the system is delivered for the benefit not just of users, but of everyone who touches our criminal justice system.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide transparency on spending or pause rollout
Broad Statements Without Specifics
Response accuracy