Around 700,000 legal cases that decided on benefits and child support are being reassessed, a government minister has confirmed, after an IT bug may have caused crucial evidence to be lost.
In August, it was revealed that a tech issue in HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) databases may have caused documents to go missing or be overwritten. A report leaked to the BBC showed that the service was aware of the data corruption, but did not know its full extent, nor had undertaken a full investigation.
One HMCTS source said there was a “culture of cover-ups” at the service, after the document revealed that management had decided not to tell lawyers or judges of the issue.
The leak also showed that HMCTS had set up an internal investigation, finding “large scale” data breaches which should have been addressed “as soon as they were known”. However, it adds that the service had taken several years to react despite warnings from technical staff dating back to 2019.
The Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) is understood to be the most affected by the issue. The court handles appeals over benefits and child maintenance.
Following the revelations, HMCTS reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, finding one where a missing document may have affected the case outcome, as confirmed by a judge.
The parties involved in the case have been contacted and offered the opportunity to request the decision be set aside, and the case reheard, justice minister Sarah Sackman said.
The Labour MP also confirmed that around 700,000 cases will covering the full period affected will now be checked. If a similar ratio of impact cases to the sample is found, this would be around 1,500 affected cases.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Conservative MP Andrew Snowden, Ms Sackman said: “As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.
“The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.”
Liberal Democrat shadow attorney general, Ben Maguire MP, said: “It’s shocking to learn that 700,000 cases may be affected by the HMCTS IT bug. This appears to be a potentially catastrophic failure that is both damaging and totally unacceptable.
“Our justice system used to be the envy of the world but after years of mismanagement and underinvestment by the last Conservative Government it is struggling with enormous backlogs and delays leaving it on the brink.
“The Government should launch a full independent investigation to expose any miscarriages of justice due to loss of evidence. Something like this can never happen again, and Ministers should take immediate action to restore trust in our justice system.”
Tropical Storm Melissa lumbers through the Caribbean as islands take cover from rain
Brazilian court acquits defendants in soccer academy fire that killed 10
Millions of benefit claimants set for income boost worth up to £450
Senior judge reveals AI could make court decisions ‘in minutes’
Teenage girl awarded scholarship at British boarding school trapped in Gaza
Prince Andrew latest: William ‘taking control’ of Palace response after criticism
