Policy paper

HMCTS Vulnerability Action Plan October 2022 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 join with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 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 April 2022.

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

We continue to focus on three 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
• considering the impact of legislative change such as the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the British Sign Language Act 2022
• 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:

• introduced our safeguarding policy, guidance and staff training to make sure we have the skills and knowledge to support vulnerable users who may need safeguarding. Safeguarding is protecting the rights of adults at risk and children to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect

• started offering 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 might 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

Civil, Family and Tribunals

We have:

• made it possible for our Employment Tribunals users to start their cases online. We’ve introduced a new claim form with clearer instructions
• introduced the prohibition of cross examination in the family courts. If you are not represented, the court can now appoint a qualified legal representative to question the other party
• supported the Debt Respite Scheme, more commonly known as Breathing Space which is a HM Treasury initiative administered by the Insolvency Service

The legislation supports debtors who seek out debt advice by providing them with legal protections from enforcement of their debts for a period of up to 60 days.

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

Cross Jurisdictional

We have:

• carried out access to justice assessments across our reformed services to help identify where improvements can be made (assessments helped services identify potential access to justice issues and consider changes in the service to improve users experience)
• continued to complete assessments as part of our Public Sector Equality Duty when we make changes to our processes, policies or the way we work
• collected feedback from our pilot of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme. The findings demonstrated overall support for the scheme and focussed on:
  • ease of access to a lanyard
  • safety and security while wearing a lanyard in our building
  • overall user experience.

3.3  Making our services accessible for vulnerable users

Crime

We have:

• completed trials with a deaf juror with more planned to take place by the end of the 2022 (follows changes brought in through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which allow British Sign Language into the jury deliberation room, expected to open up jury service to over 80,000 Deaf people across England and Wales)
• provided pre-recording of cross examination for complainants of serious sexual offences and modern slavery (in place across Crown Court trials where permitted by the Judiciary)
• created guidance and learning for court staff to help support users with special measures (which allow victims and witnesses to take part in criminal proceedings without having to meet the accused face-to-face)
• implemented a new commencement order which made domestic abuse complainants automatically considered eligible for special measures in the criminal courts, including:
  • screens to shield the witness from the defendant
  • a live link allowing the witness to give evidence during the trial from outside the courtroom
  • evidence given in private, excluding members of the public from the court
  • removal of wigs and gowns by Judges and barristers

Civil, Family and Tribunals

We have:

• re-launched a digital service to support the new divorce law commonly called no fault divorce (provides updated guidance and improved notifications on case progress)
• agreed that all cases will be listed as video hearings following judicial direction in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Tribunal (face-to-face hearings or hybrid hearings can take place where parties have requested one, or a judge has decided that it’s necessary)
• delivered around 200 protective screens to family courts, meaning victims of domestic abuse do not have to see the perpetrator in the court room
• launched an Automated Payment Line allowing users to pay debtors fees. We continue to offer other methods of payment for anyone who cannot use the line.

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
continuing to develop a new signposting strategy to improve the way we connect service users to external support services when needed. This work will include introducing a staff guide on how to include effective signposting in our public information leaflets and on GOV.UK	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
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
developing staff guidance to help support users at risk of harm or suicide	spring 2023	cross jurisdictional
evaluating the pilot of introducing an Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service, formerly known as the Victims Helpline, in Kent and Thames Valley	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
making improvements to allow litigants in person for child arrangement order, and Family Law Act (Domestic Abuse) applications to engage with their digital case directly (so they 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	ongoing	civil, family and tribunals
supporting a proposal for a juror counselling service to provide emotional support to jurors	summer 2023	crime
developing a process when using Section 28 special measure at all remote link sites	ongoing	crime
supporting the delivery of NHS Programmes to continue roll out of health care services in our remand suites. This includes the implementation of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements and expansion of Liaison and Diversion services across 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
carrying 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
considering how we can better support victims of domestic abuse by identifying additional measures, which could be introduced, without jeopardising the impartiality of the court	ongoing	civil, family and tribunals

4.3  Making services accessible for vulnerable users

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
continuing the Royal Courts of Justice’s accessibility improvement project	summer 2023	cross jurisdictional
working to improve access to our buildings	ongoing	cross jurisdiction
evaluating our appellant in person  processes in Immigration and Asylum Tribunals to understand how well the service is working and the overall user experience. This will make sure there is equivalent access to justice for appellants in person compared to those who have legal representation	summer 2023	civil, family and tribunals
implementing Special Measures and Prohibition of Cross Examination in Civil Proceedings as part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The most commonly used forms are being updated to allow users to tell us of any vulnerability or requirement that needs special measures	autumn 2022	civil, family and tribunals

5.  Looking to the future

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

We’re planning how we evaluate the experience of victims, witnesses, and defendants – particularly those deemed vulnerable and from ethnic minority backgrounds — in criminal courts.

Through our reform 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.