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Strategic Engagement Group Meeting Chair’s Summary - December 2022

Published 21 December 2022

Applies to England and Wales

1. Introduction

This document summarises the discussion of the Strategic Engagement Group (StratEG) meeting held on 13 December 2022. The meeting was held online.

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 3 presentations on Pre-recorded Cross Examination, Court of Protection and a Family Court disposal rates project.

2. Reform programme

Each jurisdiction provided updates on their area and project delivery.

2.1 Civil

In January, there will be releases on default judgments, general applications and for judges to make direction orders, for legal representatives of the Damages Claims Service and Online Civil Money Claims.

Work will progress in the next financial year on Enforcement and Bulk Claims, and Possession Claims. The Possession Project is engaging with ministers and the Department For Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on Possession Claims.

2.2 Family

Family Law Private Beta has been expanded to 16 Courts and 46 solicitor firms. Applications will not be released until February/March. Applications have been submitted to judges to confirm which pilot sites are right before rollout.

Similarly, in the Adoption Project, applications have been received and the project is finalising the tech delivery and implementation plans.

2.3 Tribunals

The Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) SSCS5 appeal form (HMRC appeals) is planned to be released at the end of January 2023. The Case Access Management component needed for the new SSCS5 form was successfully deployed on 12 October 2022.

Technical work for the Scheduling and Listing work is complete and ready to rollout a minimum viable product (MVP) to the pathfinder site in Cardiff this month, followed by the MVP business release and national rollout in January 2023.

Online card payment for legal representatives was released on 26 October 2022. European Union Settlement Scheme appeals for the legally represented and Appellant in Person (AiP) journey was planned for release on 8 December 2022. The online application forms in the Employment Tribunal are going forward.

2.4 Future Hearings

The video hearings service will be onboarding the Lands Chamber in March 2023 and trialling with pilots in some prisons.

The team is completing a post-implementation review, with small (Aberystwyth), medium (Plymouth) and large (Manchester) county courts during November/December 2022.

Publication of Civil and Family hearing lists will include automation between ListAssist and the Court and Tribunal Hearings service next year.

2.5 Crime

Common Platform was released in courts in Kent, West Midlands and Warwickshire in October and West Yorkshire in November. Proposals for extending the rollout were considered by the November Crime Board and dates will be shared in due course.

As of 25 November over 220,000 cases have been accepted on Common Platform, with 350,000 hearings in magistrates’ courts and 75,000 hearings in Crown Courts.

Work is continuing on the model office/model court with workshops at all sites. Some work will move from courts to Courts and Tribunals Service Centres. Work will continue in the new year with staff, judiciary, defence practitioners, CPS and other stakeholders.

From January, the project will be working with operations on further rollout. There will be an update and research on work around unrepresented defendants, and posters and leaflets in cells. Work will also continue with Crown Court judges and a Criminal Justice Working Group will be established.

3. Pre-recorded cross examination

Pre-recorded Cross Examination is one of the special measures available in all Crown Courts to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and those whose evidence may be diminished by physical or mental impairment. The service was extended to intimidated witnesses, including complainants in respect of a sexual offence or a modern slavery offence between March and September 2022.

The first case in the youth courts is expected to be in January 2023 which will inform decisions on further rollout. 79% of courts can screen videos from defendants to the court. The plan is to increase to 95% by the end of this financial year.

Early adopter remote link sites are at Leeds Crown / Leeds Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), Wood Green Crown Court and Durham SARC. The Project Board will be asked to consider further rollout options in the new year.

HMCTS is working with the CPS on training for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) on Special Measures. A review of the training will be completed by December 2022.

4. Court of Protection

The presentation described a revised process and forms for a new Court of Protection online pilot scheme to apply for financial Deputyship (Property and Affairs).

An application for a property and financial affairs deputyship order is made when it is believed that someone lacks the mental capacity to deal with or make decisions in relation to their own property and affairs. Applications can be made on paper or online.

The new process will enhance digitalise working in courts, reduce papers, paper applications and touchpoints in courts and improve accuracy. The pilot will start on 1 January 2023. A new platform and forms for the pilot will go live soon. A second pilot will start in February.

Over 200 solicitors have been involved in the pilot so far and the Court of Protection project held an engagement session on Monday 19 December. The digital journey improvements going forwards will be informed by any further feedback received.

5. Family Court disposal rates project

The aim of the project is to understand the underlying causes behind declining disposal rates in the Family Court, and why there is significant discrepancy between regions.

Initial research and investigation included research interviews with partners across the family justice and focused deep dives across 6 designated family areas to understand why there were more hearings per case, why there were more experts per case, have cases become more complex and the impact of delays.

Feedback from the interviews and additional data identified 8 categories of areas impacting disposal rates, 4 affecting the ability of the court and the professionals involved to progress a case efficiently, and wider pressures impacting on professionals across the system on the other 4 factors.

The project is engaging with partners across family justice to map existing activity against the themes identified. The intention is to use this mapping to identify any areas where:

• work is already being taken forward to help alleviate issues raised in the identified themes
• existing work could be taken further
• excellent initiatives already happening could be disseminated more widely
• there are gaps in existing activity that we could focus on for future work

After initial scoping, the project will begin engaging with legal professionals on the findings and options to help improve disposal rates further.

6. Other updates

A new Courts and Tribunals Communication Forum is being established by HMCTS in the new year.

A new weekly HMCTS newsletter will be launched in January 2023 and will replace the current HMCTS Operational Update and Friday Round Up.

7. Next meeting

The next meeting will be on 14 February 2023.

Amy Allen

Acting Head of Corporate Relations, HMCTS and Chair of Strategic Engagement Group.