HM Courts and Tribunals Service Board meeting – 5 February 2025
Published 30 September 2025
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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1. Attendees
1.1 Present
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Sir Richard Broadbent | Chairman |
| Nick Fishwick | Non-Executive Member |
| Nicky Wilden | Non-Executive Member & Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair |
| Luisa Fulci | Non-Executive Member |
| Nick Goodwin | Chief Executive Officer (CEO) |
| Daniel Flury | Operations Director |
| Catherine Blair | Interim Chief Finance Officer |
| Annabel Burns | Strategy, Analysis & Planning Director |
| Mr Justice Ian Dove | Deputy Senior President of Tribunals |
| Lord Justice Nicholas Green | Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) |
| Sir Keith Lindblom | Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) |
| HHJ Alison Raeside | Judicial Board member (remote) |
| John Laverick | Chief Digital and Information Officer |
| Sir Andrew McFarlane | President of the Family Division |
| Michelle Crotty | Chief Executive – Judicial Office |
| Sally Parkinson | Director - Judicial and Legal Services Policy (MoJ) |
| Farhad Chikhalia | Deputy Director - Finance Strategy & Planning (MoJ) |
1.2 Presenters
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Adam Lennon | Deputy Director – Service Owner (Family) |
| Craig Robb | Deputy Director – Service Owner (Crime) |
| Tim Stamp | Deputy Director, Strategic Finance & Planning |
| Head of Financial Strategy | |
| Ed Wagstaff | Deputy Director – Strategy User & Insight |
| Joint Head of Strategy Unit | |
| Rupert Morgan | Property Director |
| Head of Estates Policy | |
| Senior Adviser – Strategy Unit | |
| Jason Latham | Development Director |
| Nicky Reynolds | Deputy Director – Future Hearings Service |
1.3 Secretariat
| Role |
|---|
| (Interim) Head of Board Secretariat |
| Deputy Head of Board Secretariat |
| Head of Operational Judicial Private Offices |
1.4 Apologies
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Megan Lee-Devlin | Director-General – Service Transformation |
| Jerome Glass | DG Policy – Courts and Access |
2. Update on the impact of the Public Law Outline
The regional differences in case duration performance were discussed, particularly in relation to London. The ongoing issues and remedies in place were reviewed, such as the recent guidance issued by the President of the Family Division on the use of intermediaries, and a challenging judicial recruitment market.
The Family Law Pathfinder initiative was showing a dual benefit of speeding up Private Law cases and freeing up sitting capacity for Public Law cases. Case management data was also discussed.
The difference in the average number of hearings per case in Private and Public Law and the reasons behind this were explored. The potential use of virtual regions to help meet the demand in London and the South-East and maximise use of capacity across regions was highlighted.
In overall terms, there was an improving outlook for Public Law and improvements were being made to Private Law case metrics.
3. Board Minutes
The minutes from the meeting on 12 December were approved.
4. Court Visits Feedback
Board members, who had recently carried out visits at HMCTS operational sites, were invited to present their reflections.
The issue of court security and HMCTS processes were discussed, particularly in terms of Board scrutiny of security incidents data.
It was suggested that there was currently a good working relationship between local court and tribunal sites and the Courts & Tribunals Service Centres (CTSCs) but this needed to continue. The Board noted the plans for CTSCs to realign with Designated Family Judge allocations to help foster a closer working relationship and the proposed use of CTSC hubs, of small local teams, to be based in local courts.
5. CEO Report
Progress on the Concordat since the last Board meeting was reviewed, specifically in relation to Crown Court sitting days.
The discussion moved onto the outstanding caseloads, and it was suggested that a systemic review would be of value in giving clarity on the levels of demand the justice system could actually bear.
The potential outputs from the Independent Review of Criminal Courts were discussed. The positive outcomes from the recent Infrastructure & Project Authority review of the Reform programme were noted. It was confirmed that HMCTS was now bearing down on unit costs as part of financial planning discussions.
6. Performance & Finance Updates
The overall position across the different jurisdictions was discussed with a particular focus on the Crown Court, Family, Immigration and Asylum Chamber,
Social Security & Child Support and Employment Tribunals. The expected year-end forecast for each jurisdiction was noted.
The Board asked that future operational reports had a greater focus on analysis and insight to facilitate a better discussion and challenge from the Board.
The outlook in administrative performance was positive: reformed services were maturing; Crown Court resulting had improved; Probate case levels continued to fall; and Enforcement revenues were up 10% on last year. Call handling had also improved so that it was within 15 minutes across 10 jurisdictions. The overall effect was a drop in complaints and more staff time on frontline services. Whilst performance was much improved, it was likely that HMCTS would have to respond to future surge demand.
Unit costs and the financial position was discussed.
7. Spending Review – Phase 2
The various strands of the work completed to date and next steps were set out. The Board considered where the Artificial Intelligence opportunities might lie for HMCTS.
An update was provided on the Spending Review submission process, including the scenarios that were being mapped out. HMCTS was preparing a counterfactual analysis on the funding requirements for 2025-26 and how the system would be run based upon this funding model.
The Strategy team also set out other priorities in the bidding process.
8. Independent Criminal Courts Review – Update
The likely timeline for the review were noted and the Board discussed its potential outputs and their impact.
9. Remote Participation Approach
The Board was invited to consider the proposed approach and whether the development of a ‘virtual estate’ that complements the physical estate would allow HMCTS to be more responsive.
The consensus was to move forward ambitiously, mindful of the need for judicial input and decision-making at all stages.
10. Spending Review Phase 2: Property
The potential operational opportunities of improved facilities and maximised capacity were noted.
It was felt that HMCTS should take this work forward, ensuring that the final bid was both sufficiently detailed, credible and realistic.
11. 2025-30 Strategic Plan
Following on from the Board setting the HMCTS strategic vision in October 2023, the Strategy team had developed this into a set of objectives and actions that would form the basis of the full strategy. The Board discussed the proposals and provided its feedback.