Error discovered in second MoJ form

Justice Secretary Michael Gove has written to the Justice Select Committee, advising that a fault has been discovered in Form E1, which was available on the HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) website between 2011-12.

The form, used in certain proceedings concerning financial provision for children, had a problem calculating an individual’s net assets. This means that in some cases the assets would have been worked out incorrectly.

The Ministry of Justice has argued that the fault would have been unlikely to affect the ultimate outcome of cases. This is because Form E1 is introduced early in proceedings and the details are often superseded by information that is subsequently provided to the court.

That said, the discovery could serve to further undermine confidence in resources that the Ministry of Justice has made available online.

The mistake has come to light just a couple of months after a similar glitch was identified in Form E – prompting a warning for some divorced couples to double check their financial settlements.

While the fault with Form E1 will have affected a far smaller group of people – principally because it is used in fewer proceedings – critics have pointed out that HMCTS had previously claimed that the problem was confined only to Form E.

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