Policy paper

HMCTS Vulnerability Action Plan April 2023 update

Updated 12 December 2023

1.  Introduction

Needing to use one of our services can be a daunting experience for anyone. It can be an even bigger challenge for the most vulnerable in our society.

We say that people are vulnerable when they have a difficulty and need extra support. This could be a disability, mental health condition or an experience which has made someone feel unsafe.

Our Vulnerability Action Plan shows how we aim to make our courts and tribunals accessible for everyone. It sets out what we’re doing to make sure our vulnerable users are not disadvantaged or discriminated against, as we deliver services now and in the future.

We’re committed to making sure we’re listening to people using our services who are more vulnerable, and our partners who support vulnerable groups. We’re working to adapt and improve our services to meet their needs. We’re working with our Ministry of Justice (MOJ) colleagues and other government departments to make sure we provide the right level of support. It’s important to us our vulnerable users can always access the justice system safely and with confidence.

2. Background

We’re committed to keeping our Vulnerability Action Plan up to date and last published in October 2022.

As before, this plan includes our work as part of our reform programme to design future accessible services.

We continue to focus on 3 priority areas so our vulnerable users can access the justice system safely and with confidence. These are:

• providing our vulnerable users with support to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting to other sources of information and support when needed
• gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users
• making our services accessible for vulnerable users

We’ll continue to make sure our vulnerable users can access our services and will do this through:

• ongoing engagement with vulnerable users and our partners who support vulnerable groups needs
• implementing cross government strategies such as the National Disability Strategy, the National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People, and Adults, and the MOJ Neurodiversity Action Plan

3.  What we’ve done since our last update

3.1 Providing our vulnerable users with support to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting to other sources of information and support when needed

Cross Jurisdictional

We have:

• started the Video Hearings Service in a small number of venues across the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions
• published the HMCTS safeguarding policy on GOV.UK
• introduced a National Digital Support service in partnership with We Are Digital, one of the UK’s leading digital skills and inclusion providers. This means we can support users of Social Security and Child Support, Single Justice Service, Online Civil Money Claims, Probate, Divorce, Help with Fees to use our online services. Some of our users may not have the technology or digital skills and confidence to do things online. The Digital Support Service will help our users who face these kinds of barriers to access our online services and fill in forms on GOV.UK
• re-launched the Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service (UPC), formerly known as the National Victim’s Helpline, in November 2022. This service helps:
  • police forces
  • His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
  • third sector organisations, which includes charities and voluntary groups
  • members of the public, including victims of domestic abuse and crime - to stop unwanted prisoner contact
• developed staff guidance to help support users at risk of harm or suicide

Civil, Family and Tribunals

We have:

• made sure users can start their Employment Tribunal cases online with support for those who have difficulty using online services. Paper forms can still be used for those unable to access technology

• made improvements to the process which allows litigants in person for Child Arrangement orders, Family Law Act and Domestic Abuse applications to engage with their digital case directly. This means litigants:

  • can update their contact details
  • provide responses to directions in orders
  • see other documents added to the digital case
  • be signposted to useful information
  • and track their case progress

3.2 Gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users

Cross Jurisdictional

We have:

• completed and published 4 access to justice assessments, Online Civil Money Claims, (OCMC), Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), Divorce and Probate on GOV.UK
• developed a National Domestic Abuse Action Plan, identifying where improvements can be made for our users
• improved application form FL401, used for non-molestation, or occupation orders and injunctions, which protects people from abuse or harassment by making it easier to use and understand
• raised awareness of CourtNav, an online tool to help anyone completing Family Law applications to get legal protection in England or Wales

3.3 Making our services accessible for vulnerable users

Civil, Family and Tribunals

We have:

• improved the new digital divorce service so that users can apply for different stages of divorce digitally
• completed access audits to better understand accessibility issues in Civil and Family Courts and Tribunals to add to our previous audits of the Crime estate

Crime

We have:

• completed 15 trials with deaf jurors following the changes introduced by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The act allows British Sign Language interpreters into the jury deliberation room
• 200 Crown and magistrates courts able to offer a special measure for witnesses to be shielded from the defendant when appearing via a video live link or pre-recorded evidence. Special measures allow victims and witnesses to take part in criminal proceedings without having to see the accused face-to-face

4. Our plan

4.1 Providing our vulnerable users with support to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting to other sources of information and support when needed

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
testing training for staff to help them identify and respond to user needs, signposting to external support services if needed	Ongoing	Cross-jurisdictional
expanding the Video Hearings Service nationally to include all jurisdictions	Autumn 2023	Cross-jurisdictional
continuing to build staff knowledge on Safeguarding	Ongoing	Cross-jurisdictional
introducing a webchat option for Employment Tribunal users through our Court and Tribunal Service Centres with support offered to those users who are less confident with using IT	Summer 2023	Cross-jurisdictional
testing Family Private Law applications for litigants in person to see how we can improve the system for applicants. Private Law cases are between family members, such as parents or other relatives and do not involve Local Authority	Summer 2023	Civil, Family and Tribunals
supporting the MOJ to deliver the Specialist Sexual Violence Support (SSVS) pilot. This is to improve the experience of adult rape victims in the Crown Courts	Ongoing	Crime

4.2 Gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
continuing to carry out access to justice assessments across our services to identify where improvements can be made. Protected characteristics data is one source of information which will help us gain a fuller understanding of people who use our services	Ongoing	Cross-jurisdiction

4.3 Making services accessible for vulnerable users

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
introducing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme across all our sites, as part of our commitment in the cross-government autism strategy. Some people choose to wear the Sunflower lanyard to discreetly identify that they may need extra support	Summer 2023	Cross-jurisdictional
continuing the Royal Courts of Justice accessibility improvement project	Ongoing	Cross-jurisdictional
monitoring the Automated Payment Line and identify any improvements that increase accessibility	Summer 2023	Civil, Family and Tribunals
continue to develop our approach to improving court accessibility	Ongoing	Civil, Family and Tribunals
reviewing feedback from jurors, interpreters and courts to improve our guidance to staff, and our services to deaf jurors	Ongoing	Crime
updating our current forms so they are clear and easy to use and making sure that when we introduce a digital process a paper route is also available for our users	Ongoing	Crime

5. Looking to the future

We’ll continue to review any changes we make to understand what the impacts are on vulnerable users.

The MOJ is conducting an overall evaluation of the Reform programme. As part of this HMCTS is conducting an evaluation of crime specific Reform. Both will include research with criminal court users. More information can be found on HMCTS Reform Overarching Evaluation: Research.

We’ll continue to talk with external stakeholders and partners. Our Public User Engagement Groups are one way we get feedback and better understand issues.

If we find negative impacts on vulnerable people using our services, we’ll continue to take steps to fix them and include our work in our Vulnerability Action Plan.

We’ll continue to publish our plan on GOV.UK.