Judicial system could save £2m a year

NAO report recommends direct input of court data

Crown prosecutors are being told to stop making manuscript records of the outcome of hearings and instead enter them directly into the Compass judicial system.

A National Audit Office report on timewasting and inefficiencies in the court process says lawyers entering the data instead of leaving the work to be repeated by administrative staff at a later date, could save £2m a year in staff costs alone.

It could also improve the tracking of cases, reduce the time taken to pass files on for action and end transcription errors.

'More extensive use of technology would also lead to value for money gains, as well as contributing to greater efficiency,' the report says.