Protocol for sharing court lists in criminal proceedings with professional court users
Updated 14 August 2023
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Overview
Magistrates’ courts can provide copies of standard court lists to duty solicitors and those working for public or voluntary bodies supporting participants in the court process.
Standard court lists, however prepared, relate to a particular court hearing. They include the names and other personal details of defendants, and the offences they are charged with. These lists are important for recipients to identify which defendants are eligible for their services and to help them engage with the people they support.
In the Crown court, NHS staff providing welfare services to people in custody require lists containing the identities of people in court cells.
However, these lists comprise personal data and therefore cannot be freely shared to the extent permitted by data protection legislation. The relevant exemption in the case of court lists in criminal cases is set out in part 3 and schedule 8 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Among other things, sharing is lawful if carried out under a legal requirement.
Rule 5.8 (5) of the Criminal Procedure Rules requires court officers to share personal data to members of the public under arrangements made by the Lord Chancellor. Such sharing will be carried out under a legal requirement and will be lawful under the DPA 2018. This protocol comprises such an arrangement.
Sharing court lists
Court officers in magistrates’ courts may provide copies of standard court lists and information about individual defendants to the following participants:
- duty solicitors on rota
- officers of the Probation Service
- officers of youth offending teams
- recognised independent domestic violence advisers
- recognised independent sexual violence advisers
- witness support volunteers if working for a recognised witness support body, such as Citizens Advice
- health and social care practitioners working for a recognised service provider supporting defendants in the following disciplines: mental health, vulnerabilities, alcohol and drug dependency, physical health and wellbeing (for example liaison and diversion services, community sentence treatment requirement services, or criminal courts custody healthcare services)
- other volunteers or professionals who in the judgement of a court officer of band B and above (administrative) or band A and above (legal), provide like services to the above
Court officers in the Crown court may provide the prison version of the daily court list, which includes the names and dates of birth of defendants. This version may be provided to health and social care practitioners working for a recognised service provider supporting defendants in the following disciplines:
- mental health
- vulnerabilities
- alcohol and drug dependency
- physical health
- wellbeing
This information can be provided in paper form and by email between the court and the recipient.
Sharing court lists by email
You must include the following at the beginning of the body of the email: “Note this email contains special category data as defined by Data Protection Act 2018, formally known as sensitive personal data, and should be handled appropriately.”
The email must contain the following disclaimer:
This email contains information intended to assist your professional or voluntary functions. It is vital you ensure that you safeguard these data and do not disseminate it beyond what is strictly necessary to carry out those functions. HMCTS will stop sending the data if there is concern about how it will be used.
HMCTS and its staff are not responsible for the safe storage, transport or destruction of these bundles or papers.
These lists are your sole responsibility as data controller. As data controller you are required to make the necessary arrangements to delete them entirely from your system following the end of the court hearing.
If lists are left unattended or unsecured in the court or court building then HMCTS may consider it necessary to report that a personal data breach has occurred pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.
Receiving court lists
The information provided is not routinely available to the general public, and its disclosure to the general public would amount to a breach of the DPA 2018. As a result, anyone receiving a court list must conform to appropriate, common-sense safeguards.
They may not share the lists or their content with third parties or within their own organisations beyond what is essential to carry out the functions for which they received the list.
Paper court lists must be returned to court staff at the close of business for safe storage or destruction. Court lists sent by email must be deleted from recipients’ systems at the close of business.
The court officer may refuse to disclose data to a person or organisation if there is a concern about how that information will be used by the recipient.