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Tribunals to ‘go digital’
The MoJ will publish a joint “vision paper” on Thursday, entitled Transforming Our Justice System, that will include plans to scrap paper forms and “go digital” in every court and tribunal in England and Wales.
It’s the future. I attended an Appeal with a video link to the DWP at the other side of the country. The DM/Presenting Officer appeared squashed into what looked like a broom cupboard and at one point he could hear us……then he couldn’t. Then at one point we could hear him, very loudly…… and then not at all. The Judge sat at the bench asking ‘can you hear me now?’ The clerk tweaked a button. The Judge repeated. We introduced ourselves ‘HI!, with returned Hello? from a remote speaker as the picture went fuzzy. Hello the DM said…‘Hello’ we all replied. The clerk hit something….We had blast off. It was like Norman Collier meets the Chuckle Brothers on the Starship Enterprise.
I’m contributing to the consultation. I stuck my oar in because; first, a lot of my clients won’t cope with it but, second, I can’t either.
There is a certain amount of non verbal communication that’s missing on a video link and I have often lost my temper with the POs when I’ve had to do them. One of my favourite Judges had to tell me off once and quite correctly too.
MoJ paper is now out .. includes:
In the next 18 months, online dispute resolution will be tested in Social Security & Child Support hearings, with people making their appeal and receiving a response online, and tribunal judges providing dispute resolution through “continuous online hearings”.
It’s the future. I attended an Appeal with a video link to the DWP at the other side of the country. The DM/Presenting Officer appeared squashed into what looked like a broom cupboard and at one point he could hear us……then he couldn’t. Then at one point we could hear him, very loudly…… and then not at all. The Judge sat at the bench asking ‘can you hear me now?’ The clerk tweaked a button. The Judge repeated. We introduced ourselves ‘HI!, with returned Hello? from a remote speaker as the picture went fuzzy. Hello the DM said…‘Hello’ we all replied. The clerk hit something….We had blast off. It was like Norman Collier meets the Chuckle Brothers on the Starship Enterprise.
“... can you hear me now?” needs to be said out loud in best Peter Kay Phoenix Nights voice, if you can remember that far back.
Me, I’m just waiting for the day the Tribunals Service discover email is safer than fax and sanity descends.
Ikbikbi- that priceless! Thank you for making my day.
Ikbikbi- that priceless! Thank you for making my day.
Deffo ... hope you don’t mind, but couldn’t resist tweeting an excerpt:
Hidden amongst all this “blue sky” nonsense is a plan to pare down all Tribunals to a single Judge unless the Senior President orders otherwise (either generally or in a specific case). The composition of PIP/DLA tribunals in particular is specifically targeted as being a problematic ” historical precedent” applied without regard to “the circumstances of the case in question”. (consultation document para 7.3.4).
If you think that medical expertise adds anything at all to the appeal process then I would strongly encourage you to make that known before October 27th here:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-our-courts-and-tribunals
It’s the tribunal equivalent of constituency boundary changes isn’t it?
Hidden amongst all this “blue sky” nonsense is a plan to pare down all Tribunals to a single Judge unless the Senior President orders otherwise (either generally or in a specific case). The composition of PIP/DLA tribunals in particular is specifically targeted as being a problematic ” historical precedent” applied without regard to “the circumstances of the case in question”. (consultation document para 7.3.4).
If you think that medical expertise adds anything at all to the appeal process then I would strongly encourage you to make that known before October 27th here:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-our-courts-and-tribunals
Will be getting this on the GMWRAG web site by the end of the day all being well. Thank you for highlighting just how significant it is. Short deadline as ever.
A major concern from my point of view would be the potential for those without the necessary online skills to be excluded from access to justice.
A major concern from my point of view would be the potential for those without the necessary online skills to be excluded from access to justice.
not to mention those without IT hardware at all, or those with no internet acciess due to remoteness/lack of money/whatever
i recently linked a case in another thread (it was a VAT case) in point…
this thread: http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/10076/
Hidden amongst all this “blue sky” nonsense is a plan to pare down all Tribunals to a single Judge unless the Senior President orders otherwise (either generally or in a specific case). The composition of PIP/DLA tribunals in particular is specifically targeted as being a problematic ” historical precedent” applied without regard to “the circumstances of the case in question”. (consultation document para 7.3.4).
Great spot Elliot .... have posted to the news area too:
Cheers - Shawn
Further to the stuff in the ‘vision paper’ re testing online dispute resolution in Social Security & Child Support hearings, I see that in the consultation doc they say -
Digitising the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal: This will be one of the first services to be moved entirely online, with an end-to-end digital process that will be faster and easier to use for people that use it.