Transparency data

Strategic Engagement Group Meeting Chair’s Summary - April 2023

Published 20 April 2023

Applies to England and Wales

1. Introduction

This document summarises the discussion of the Strategic Engagement Group (StratEG) meeting held on 11 April 2023. The meeting was a hybrid online and face-to-face event at 102 Petty France, London.

Members of the Bar Council, Law Society and Chartered Institute of Legal Executives met with the jurisdictional leads for the HMCTS reform programme and HMCTS corporate relations team for the latest bi-monthly update and discussion.

The meeting included 4 presentations:

• HMCTS Reform Programme and delivery timelines
• Ministry of Justice (MOJ) evaluation of the reform programme
• Common Platform update
• Adoption reform project

2. HMCTS Reform Programme

Chief Executive, Nick Goodwin had written to heads of legal professional associations on 20 March to provide an update to the HMCTS Reform Programme and extensions to some timelines.

He also published a blog on ‘Inside HMCTS’ and referred to the programme adjustments at a Public Accounts Committee hearing on 30 March, where he had given evidence alongside the MOJ Permanent Secretary.

The timelines for the completion of various projects and activities have been realigned. The programme will end in March 2024, 3 months later than originally planned, with a longer extension for the roll out of the final 2 releases of the Common Platform functionality in the Crown Court, to March 2025.

Reform of possession, adoption and the remaining special tribunals (apart from Criminal Injuries Compensation) have been paused. HMCTS continues to work with the judiciary on these changes.

The revised timelines have been agreed with the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals.

3. MOJ overarching evaluation of the Reform Programme

The overarching evaluation is to assess the reform programme as a whole, to identify whether the programme has met its aims, what effects it has had, for whom and why. The focus is on vulnerable users and access to justice.

The evaluation is multi-method and is drawing on several different types of evidence. These include case management systems, investigating specific reforms and research conducted to provide evidence in areas not covered by the data analysis or project-level evaluations.

Much of the research and analysis will be conducted following the end of the reform programme. MOJ published a progress report in March 2023. Further details about the research already completed is available on GOV.UK. The final evaluation report will be published once this research is complete.

4. Reform Programme – jurisdictional updates

Each jurisdiction provided updates on their area and project delivery.

4.1 Future Hearings

The service team is working to pilot the Video Hearings platform at Chester Crown Court in May 2023.

HMCTS and HMPPS have agreed to develop a joint Memorandum of Understanding of shared ownership of the risk and responsibility of the prisoner attending their hearing, pre-consultation, and post hearing consultations with their legal representative on the Video Hearings platform.

The project has delivered training to regional operational leads on List Assist and 0365. The training will be cascaded to the Leadership Judges.

4.2 Civil

Standard Directions orders and Default Judgments were released in the Online Money Claims and Damages services in March.

The service team is looking at developing the next releases, focusing on priorities for Civil. Some activities have been paused for development work with the Department for Levelling Up.

HMCTS is working closely with MOJ on their enforcement strategy, and warrants, with reform work planned later this year.

4.3 Family

The project is currently in the process of gaining approval for going live with the first phase of early adopter testing. Once live, Child Arrangements and Domestic Abuse applications within the jurisdiction of the Swansea Family Courts, will be administered digitally. This is provisionally planned for May 2023. All other applications will be administered by the local court through the existing paper journey until further roll out.

An update on the Adoption project was presented at this meeting and is recorded at 5 below.

4.4 Tribunals

Tribunals were not represented at the meeting but provided the following update.

Development of the remaining Appellant in Person (AIP) deliverables has commenced in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, including First-tier Permission Applications which is expected to be released in May/June 2023.

The Immigration and Asylum Chamber project is focussed on delivering IT change required to support implementation of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The project will work with stakeholders to deliver the priority measures for Autumn 2023 which includes Accelerated Detained Appeals and Expedited Judicial Process in the Upper Tribunal.

The Welsh language CitizenUI claimant form ET1 journey was released on 16 February. This release enables Welsh speaking Litigants in Person to make a claim in Welsh on the ET1 GOV.UK web pages and the ability to make a request to receive future outputs in Welsh.

The Project will now be focused on delivering the Core Service to the Criminal Injures Compensation (CIC) tribunal and pause work on the other tribunals. Release 1 features into CIC is planned in April, Release 2 in May and the final Release 3 will begin in May but will be dependent on testing.

4.5 Crime and Common Platform

Common Platform has been extended to March 2025 for the final 2 releases but most of it will be delivered by December 2023.

With the rollout to Dorset on 28 March, 78% of criminal courts now have access to Common Platform. The rollout will extend to the remaining courts by the end of summer 2023.

With respect to implementation of functionality, the next stage will be a pilot in Essex followed by other courts with the same IT systems and a plan for rolling out to the remaining courts.

New Scheduling and Listing functionality for court users will be trialled by early adopter courts and rolled out from the autumn. The migration of calls from courts to CTSCs is getting better due to design. Regular online drop-in sessions have been arranged for the defence.

Work on model office / model court testing is being shared with the police and CPS. Feedback from the workshops is reflected in the Prison Guidance pack. Feedback from the defence community on new functionality and Common Platform is being used to refresh the guidance for defence practitioners’ on GOV.UK.

The defence community is being informed about the strategic design and engagement. Regular tests on functionality are being conducted with the judiciary and included other stakeholders, designers and users. The work will continue over the next few years.

5. Adoption Project

The presentation outlined that the digital reform work in Adoption has been paused.

The aim of the adoption project is to improve the experience for children, adoptive families and local authorities.

A portal has been designed for social workers to complete part of the applicant’s application online. The portal also includes the ability for applicants to make multiple applications if they’re adopting 2 or more children at the same time. These enhancements will be rolled out and tested with a small number of courts in the spring.

The update included a demonstration of the online application. An email address, reference number, child’s name and date of birth are required to make an application.

6. Next meeting

The next meeting will be on 6 June 2023.