HMCTS services: Scheduling and Listing Project
The Scheduling and Listing Project will deliver a flexible system of digital tools and supporting processes to better support the judicial functions of scheduling and listing.
Applies to England and Wales
A new tool, ‘ListAssist’ will be a single online solution for listing hearings across the crime, civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions in England and Wales. ListAssist will support the individual needs of every jurisdiction and be flexible, to ensure that listing policies can be executed in accordance with local needs.
ListAssist will provide judges with greater certainty that listing decisions will translate into court lists and provide court users with greater certainty that their case will be heard when planned. Listing officers will have more information at their fingertips, giving them more time to focus on administering scheduling and listing on behalf of the judiciary.
The intention is that ListAssist will simplify and streamline elements of the work currently completed by staff when managing schedules and listing hearings, allowing them to focus on more skilled work.
In time, ListAssist will work with other reform projects such as the Video Hearings Service and the new case management system for criminal cases called ‘Common Platform’. This will provide a better, integrated service for all court users.
Key statistics
- 500+ Scheduling and Listing Officers will use the service across four jurisdictions
- £3.2 million will be invested in technology
- 2022 rollout will deploy ListAssist to court venues in civil, family, tribunals and crime jurisdictions across the whole of England and Wales
Aims and progress
| Objectives | Achievements | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Confidence: greater certainty for the judiciary that listing decisions will translate meaningfully into court lists | Signed contract with McGirr Technologies – a provider of case management solutions to the justice sector – to develop software | Software will give a better picture of capacity across the court estate, enabling data-driven decision-making |
| User experience: a system which provides more certainty for parties and is more respectful of their time | Project team working in close collaboration with the judiciary and operational staff to ensure successful configuration and testing of the service | Court and tribunal users will benefit from a more reliable system with greater certainty in hearing dates |
| Quality: Improved consistency and standard of service for all court users | A pilot in Oxford County Court began in January 2021 | Listing of cases at judicial discretion will be administered by HMCTS with careful consideration of the needs of members of the public, judicial availability and resources |
Case study
Anna, Listing Officer:
My job is to list cases to be heard at Oxford County Court. Listing cases can be complex, it involves looking at the court diary system and balancing physical resources such as courtrooms, with judicial and staff availability. My role is to do this as efficiently as possible in accordance with directions provided by the judicial office holder. Getting cases listed ensures members of the public can see justice is done. It’s a lot more than administration. For serious cases, having a date confirmed means victims can begin to prepare to come to court and start to visualise life beyond their case.
At the moment we manage cases across multiple systems. I’m looking forward to using ListAssist because it will link to the case management system and pull all the information needed into one place. The system can also do things like auto-list some simpler case types, leaving me more time to focus on working with the judiciary to manage lists, and deal with complex matters that support our partners and court users.
Looking ahead in 2021
By the end of 2021 the service will:
- test the service in early adopter sites to build on pilot feedback from users across multiple jurisdictions
- have developed ListAssist based on user and judicial feedback
- begun rollout of ListAssist with full training
- have started integrating with other reform services across the civil, family, tribunal and crime jurisdictions
Who we are working with
- Scheduling and Listing User Group
- Judicial Working Group
- Listing Managers, staff and judiciary at pilot and early adopter sites
- civil, family, tribunals and crime jurisdictions
- McGirr Technologies
Contact us
Email Scheduling_and_Listing@justice.gov.uk