back to article Courting disaster: Watchdog slams UK justice digitisation plans

Ambitions to slash court staff by 5,000 and chop physical cases held by 2.4 million per year via digitisation are at "serious risk" of not being delivered on time, according to the National Audit Office. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hopes to save £265m by 2023 by cutting administrative and judicial staff costs, having …

  1. Pen-y-gors

    Meh! What's new?

    Watchdog slams UK justice digitisation <insert name of just about any Govt IT project here> plans

    But they never learn. Be honest, lab rats have more aptitude for learning their way round a maze than ministers and civil servants have for learning about why IT projects fail.

    1. Halcin

      Re: Meh! What's new?

      Ministers and civil servants will never learn because there is no incentive to do so. All those receiving taxpayers money are immune to the consequences of their actions.

      1. The Nazz

        Re: Meh! What's new?

        re Halcin

        Why restrict it to Ministers and Civil Servants?

        You would be absolutely astounded and gobsmacked if you only knew half of what Lawyers on public funds get upto. And private ones too.

        Circa 2000, the Courts could have cut down their caseload by a third easily if they cut out the shenanigans.

        One would think there were no regulatory bodies at all.

        Maybe a year ago, the head of the family law division ( Mumby) made some comments about how bad it had all got ( the processes and outcomes not the IT side).

        One message : You have only yourself to blame.

    2. Potemkine! Silver badge

      Re: Meh! What's new?

      lab rats have more aptitude for learning their way round a maze ministers and civil servants have for learning about why IT projects fail.

      You mean why do they still believe the BS sold by IT consulting firms? Corruption and cronyism at high level maybe?

      1. tip pc Silver badge

        Re: Meh! What's new?

        You mean why do they still believe the BS sold by IT consulting firms? Corruption and cronyism at high level maybe?

        the reason is because the civil servants have no clue and are either paying advisors to deal with the consultancy firms or paying contractors for the same. That means they are paying people who's interest is to extract as much cash out of them as possible to advise on the services they desire from another company who's main interest is to suck as much cash out of the government as possible. So the entities that are being paid for a service are mainly interested in extracting as much money as possible from the service provided to an organisation that has no clue as to weather they are receiving value for money or not and changes its mind as often as the wind. Thats why government contracts are lucrative.

        1. strum

          Re: Meh! What's new?

          >the reason is because the civil servants have no clue and are either paying advisors to deal with the consultancy firms or paying contractors for the same.

          Largely because the Civil Service was cleared out of technical expertise, some 20-30 years ago, on the ideological premise that private was always better than public.

    3. FlossyThePig

      Re: Meh! What's new?

      One problem with large goverment IT projects is the length of the project . This means the MP in charge (not necessarily a Minister) will change a number of times causing a lack/change of direction, with the knock on of increased cost and timescales..

    4. Mark 85

      Re: Meh! What's new?

      This is true everywhere and not just the UK.

      Two big problems are consultants and off-shore doing the work. Consultants will tell you what you want to hear. They seldom ask penetrating questions about the needs of the users for the system nor do the ones specing the system have a clue other than "modern and does everything. Then the work is off-shored to people who are the lowest bidder and haven't a clue. When delivered, the system fails since it doesn't do the things expected but not ever brought up during the spec process.

      The way this works reminds of an old marketing guy I knew who thought that equipment should have a "Wonderful" control. It only rotates in one direction to "increase the wonderful" and wouldn't rotate the other way to reduce the "wonderful".

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Justice disintegration plans ?

    1. Mark 85

      Laser beam from space maybe? That ought to do the trick.

  3. Gordon Pryra

    "hopes to save £265m by 2023"

    Spending only £600 million in the process......

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "hopes to save £265m by 2023"

      if they stop now, they might be able to save even more, thus EVEN GREATER SUCCESS!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    will not be able to achieve all it wants within the time available

    but, but... I thought... I thought that gov bodies ALWAYS deliver on time and to budget?! This must be like, first ever. I am deeply shaken!!!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How long before we get Judge Dredd?

  6. ChrisElvidge

    Pubic Accounts

    Or did I miss the joke?

  7. 89724605708769238590784I9405670349743096734346773478647852349863592355648544996313855148583659264921

    BTW

    Where's the big Reg feature on the Data Protection Bill?

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