Lord Chancellor says that, having responded effectively to the immediate crisis, HMCTS is now fully focused on increasing its capacity to deal both with normal workloads across jurisdictions and outstanding cases
The government has provided an update on the recovery plans drawn up by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Introducing COVID-19: Update on recovery in courts and tribunals in a written ministerial statement earlier today, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland said -
'Having responded effectively to the immediate crisis, HMCTS is now fully focused on recovering its operation to increase courts and tribunal capacity to deal both with normal workloads across jurisdictions and outstanding cases. The challenges of doing so are no less great, not least because of the constraints imposed by social distancing. But doing so is essential if we are to ensure that our justice system delivers for the those it is there to serve. '
Key elements of the HMCTS recovery plan highlighted by Mr Buckland include -
- work to increase physical capacity to enable more cases to be heard. Mr Buckland said that all courts and tribunal buildings are being reopened in line with wider advice on social distancing and public safety and that, throughout April 2020, more than 150 of 341 sites used for physical hearings were open to the public in response to the pandemic outbreak. In addition, 284 were open at the beginning of this week following detailed risk assessments and essential modifications to ensure they are safe, and nearly all locations will become operational throughout July, with a range of physical modifications being made such as the installation of screens where appropriate.
- exploring options to stagger and extend the operating hours of courts and tribunals, including starting hearings at different times of day and weekend sittings to manage the flow of people through buildings and enable more cases to be heard safely. Mr Buckland said that HMCTS is working closely with stakeholder groups in different jurisdictions to identify the areas that have the most impact in terms of increasing capacity, and is also actively locating other buildings from across England and Wales to use as court and tribunal locations or to support the expansion of existing sites.
- work to expand access to audio and video technology to support more and new types of hearings. Mr Buckland said that there has been a significant increase in the use of such equipment over the last three months and, with the right IT solutions, many more hearings could take place. For example, HMCTS is planning to provide the Cloud Video Platform across other jurisdictions further to its roll out to all criminal courts; will be rolling out further hardware to improve the quality of video hearings; and is finding new, increasingly efficient ways of organising video lists.
- introducing a range of measures to make best use of judicial time, support court and tribunal staff and users. Mr Buckland said HMCTS is supporting judges to list in ways that make full use of the space it can safely use; will support Alternative Dispute Resolution for cases where appropriate; is deploying laptops to staff to enhance flexible working to support case activity; and will review and implement measures to ensure all vulnerable users are supported effectively to ensure they can access services and participate fully in hearings.
In addition, Mr Buckland said that -
'We will also make sure that we learn lessons from what has happened in our response to Covid-19. The unprecedented nature of this public health emergency has required all parts of the justice system to adopt new ways of working without the preparation that would normally take place, and under conditions that have not previously been tested. While some changes will be time-limited and will stop with the end of the pandemic, others may be valuable in the longer term. We will therefore listen to feedback from judges, staff, practitioners and users to improve the way we work in the short term, and gather data and other evidence to support continuous improvement. We will also evaluate and review the measures put in place to respond to Covid-19, so that we can learn lessons and make well-informed decisions about which should be adopted and/or adapted in the longer-term.'
The Lord Chancellor's written ministerial statement is available from Hansard.
