HM Courts and Tribunals Service Board meeting – 9 March 2023
Published 26 March 2024
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-board-meeting-9-march-2023/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-board-meeting-9-march-2023
1. Board members present
1.1 HMCTS
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Victoria Cochrane | Interim Chair and Senior Independent Non-Executive Member |
| Lakh Jemmett | Non-Executive Member |
| Nicky Wilden | Non-Executive Member and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) Chair |
| Nick Goodwin | HMCTS Chief Executive |
| Andrew Baigent | Chief Financial Officer |
| Paul Harris | Operations Director |
| Lord Justice Andrew Edis | Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) |
| Sir Keith Lindblom | Senior President of Tribunals (SPT) |
| District Judge Tim Jenkins | Judicial Board member |
1.2 Presenters and additional attendees
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Jan Gower | Non-Executive HMCTS Change Portfolio Board member/Critical Friend |
| Mark Stewart | Courts and Tribunals Director |
| Paula Potter | Crime Programme Director |
| Adam Lennon | Deputy Director and Service Owner – Family |
| Neal Barcoe | Deputy Director, Family Justice Policy – MoJ |
| Sir Andrew McFarlane | The President of the Family Division |
| Private Secretary to the President of the Family Division | |
| Clare Farren | Deputy Director, Judicial Private Offices |
| HMCTS Board Secretary | |
| Head of Corporate Governance and Board Secretariat |
1.3 Apologies
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Gemma Hewison | Strategy and Change Director |
| Annabel Burns | Judicial and Legal Services Policy Director - MoJ representative |
2. Welcome and Introductions
Attendees were welcomed to the meeting and the apologies were given.
3. Minutes and actions
The minutes from the meeting on 3 November 2022 were approved and updates on actions were noted.
4. Performance and finance updates
An update was provided on re-planning of Reform programme and the discussions with the PCS union.
Key successes across the organisation over the previous month were highlighted including: the issuing of a revised and updated Better Case Management (BCM) Handbook; a judicial-led initiative to pilot the delegation of certain standard direction orders; and the new digital submission service in Probate.
The Board discussed prison capacity and was informed that HMCTS was working through the likely impacts of the new Illegal Migration Bill.
Feedback on the most recent Principals’ quarterly review meeting, which had been chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, was discussed by the Board.
An update on the performance position across the different jurisdictions was provided with particular discussions in relation to the Employment Tribunal, Civil and regional variation.
The Board discussed the financial report, and an oral update was provided on the expected position for period 11. The improvements had been made regarding financial management this year were recognised.
5. Operational unit costs
Updates on current unit cost information and the actions being taken as a result of that work were highlighted.
The Board welcomed the work that had taken place and looked forward to further discussions as the matters progressed.
6. 2023-24 HMCTS allocations
The Board discussed the current position in relation to 2023-24 HMCTS financial allocations.
7. Deep dive on family performance
The key headlines in terms of the current performance in the Family jurisdiction were presented.
There was a discussion of the action to reduce demand, including around mediation. The Board noted the re-launch of the Public Law Outline and the other activity being taken to improve performance.
8. HMCTS corporate business plan 2022-23
The Board considered the quarter 3 update of the 2022-23 Corporate Business Plan.
Reform programme re-planning and feedback from Common Platform users
A further update on the HMCTS Reform programme re-planning and the anticipated next steps was provided.
The Board noted the progress being made in respect of feedback received in relation to the Common Platform.
9. HMCTS audit and risk assurance
A report in relation to the HMCTS Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) meeting on 20 February 2023 was presented.
A number of matters were brought to the Board’s attention including: business continuity in particular around cyber security; operational assurance; Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) activity; and an update on the Annual Report and Trust Statement.
10. Judicial lodgings
Following a discussion, the Board agreed the proposal in relation to the responsibility for Judicial Lodgings to HMCTS.