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When a social security appeal is recorded it is now used as the record of proceedings
In HMCTS’ update to its vulnerability action plan for April 2022 it advises -
‘... when Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) hearings are recorded it’s used as ‘the record of proceedings’. For digital cases the user can request and access this online but where the user is not able to access the recording online they can request it in an alternative format.’
Has anyone seen this in action yet?
Yes I think so; when requesting a statement of reasons and record of proceedings in recent time, the ROP now arrives as a recording of the hearing. Previously on CD, now by email containing the audio file.
‘No transcript of this recording was made. The document contains an MP3 audio file which can be played on any computer which has a windows media player’
That’s interesting - could see it being unhelpful not to have a written record for some… although we can use tech to transcibe mp3s - on the positive, it will resolve disputes about what was said or not said at hearing.
Been the case for some time in Scotland, or at least the central belt - not sure about elsewhere. Seems to work OK.
The written ROPs are no major loss. Whilst I am sure the judges do their best, they often end up as borderline illegible and it can be hard to discern what was actually said from the bullet points which end up being recorded. They would, not infrequently, need to be transcribed in cases where they are of any importance.
The audio records allow for a much more precise record of what was said. They are also going to provide some idea as to the less tangible aspects of the hearing which might be missed on the written ROP (e.g. if questions needed repeating or if the appellant was clearly upset or distressed). They are probably, paradoxically, easier to transcribe as the audio recording can be fed to a computer rather than needing someone to sit down and type out the judge’s notes.
We’ve been getting audio recordings since the move to telephone hearings as they’ve all been recorded. Since we’ve started having face to face locally again the last time we requested ROP it came as an audio file, pre-pandemic it was hand written notes by the judge. I get the sense that the pandemic has lead to HMCTS finally rolling out such wizardry to all their hearing venues?
Personally I found it a lot easier to understand than what is often a rushed scrawl of note taking by the judge (no criticism intended, my notes are usually equally indecipherable even by me!) and hasn’t as yet caused an issues I can think of.