Guidance
HMCTS weekly operational summary on courts and tribunals during coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This page provides a weekly summary of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service operational position during the coronavirus pandemic. We will aim to update this every Friday at 5pm.
We are issuing weekly updates on our operational position and we’ll email our subscribers each Sunday evening with a reminder. On Monday mornings we’ll also publish a link to the weekly update on Twitter.
You can see our previously issued daily operational updates.
Follow us on @HMCTSgovuk to also check for daily or urgent updates.
We’ll keep this under review.
HMCTS operational summary for week commencing Monday 13 July 2020
Next week’s update will be issued on Friday 17 July 2020.
- We have many online court and tribunal services available to professional users and members of the public. These remove the need to contact us by phone, email or post.
- On 1 July 2020 we published our Court and tribunal recovery update setting out the work being undertaken by HMCTS in the short and medium terms in response to coronavirus.
- Our buildings remain safe places to work and use, and meet public health Covid-19 safety standards. We continue to comprehensively assess risk and are ensuring the safety of anyone who comes in to our buildings by applying published court and tribunal coronavirus safety controls, including an organisational risk assessment, assessment tool and additional guidance for regular court users. These have been endorsed by Public Health England and Public Health Wales.
- As Government social distancing guidance is updated, we will continually assess how these measures are applied in our buildings and will only implement change to our measures when it is safe to do so. Anyone using our court and tribunal buildings from Saturday 4 July 2020 should see no difference to existing safety, security or social distancing measures – any changes will be communicated and published in advance.
- We’ve updated the list of which court and tribunal buildings are open to the public, which buildings are staffed but are not open to the public, and which buildings are temporarily closed. The list was updated 10 July 2020.
- Where courts and tribunals are closed, we’ll contact parties directly to confirm new hearing arrangements. We’ll contact those parties whose hearings were scheduled to happen first, and work our way through the list as quickly as possible. Please be patient while we do this, and avoid making contact if you can.
- The Kinly Cloud Video Platform (CVP) is being rolled out to Crown and magistrates’ courts, across England and Wales. On 27 May 2020, we updated the timetable for the rollout of CVP to Crown courts. It is also being introduced to Civil and Family courts. Please see our updated telephone and video hearings during coronavirus outbreak and a guide on how to join a telephone and video hearing.
- On 1 July 2020, we announced that we will be extending the availability of our new video platform to civil and family courts, to enable more remote cases to be heard safely and securely.
- We’ve published guidance on how to join a CVP hearing and instructions for downloading Skype for Business in order to join a court hearing. Anyone who requires technical support for a telephone or video hearing can call 0330 8089405.
- Specific guidance is available for legal practitioners who are involved in video enabled criminal hearings.
- Our Courts and Tribunals Service Centres will be available from 8am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 4pm on Fridays until further notice. .
- Welsh Language services available during the coronavirus outbreak. .
Crime
- We have published updated guidance to help ensure the safety and security of visitors to court custody suites. .
- Some new jury trials have commenced under special arrangements to maintain the safety of all participants, including jurors.
- Our court and tribunal tracker list can be used to find out which Crown Courts have been assessed as currently suitable to hold jury trials.
- Message from the Chair of the Jury Trials Working Group on resumption of jury trials: 22 May 2020.
- Crown Courts are dealing with a range of work, much of which is being done remotely. This includes sentencing hearings and all urgent applications including applications for bail and applications to extend custody time limits. Pre-trial preparation hearings and further case management hearings are also taking place.
- Magistrates’ courts and the Youth Courts are now dealing with all criminal business types. Urgent cases such as those where the defendant is being held in police or prison custody will continue to take priority. continue to cover urgent work, such as cases where the defendant is being held in police or prison custody. .
- The number of summary trials listed is increasing, whilst still ensuring prioritisation is given to cases involving an allegation of domestic abuse and Domestic Violence Protection Orders.
- Cases where defendants are on bail and require listing in either a GAP or NGAP court are also being heard.
- Updated: The Judiciary has published a note of listing in magistrates’ courts during coronavirus outbreak.
- Various other work including police traffic prosecutions, continue to be dealt with remotely using the Single Justice Procedure.
- We are making plans to start dealing with other cases where the defendant is on bail, during June.
- All questions about paying an outstanding criminal court fine should be sent to our National Compliance and Enforcement Service at NCESBCT@justice.gov.uk or call 0300 123 9252.
Family
- Family courts business priorities. .
- Family court C100 (child arrangements) guidance. .
- Guidance on replacement of affidavits with statements of truth in non-contentious probate processes.
- Coronavirus contingency arrangements for Family Law Act injunctions. .
Civil
- Civil court listing priorities. .
Tribunals
- Various user help guides published: Administrative Appeals Chamber, Employment Tribunals, General Regulatory Chamber, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (First-Tier Tribunal): Special Education Needs & Disability, Care Standards and Primary Health Lists, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (First-Tier Tribunal): Mental Health, Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Lands Chamber, Property Chamber, Tax and Chancery Chamber (Upper Tier), Tax Chamber First Tier, War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber, Property Chamber and Social Entitlement Chamber (First-Tier Tribunal).
- Payment of fees to the Lands Chamber, Payment of application and hearing fees to the Property Chamber.
- First tier tax tribunal operational update .
- Property and General Regulatory Chamber operational updates .
- The Judiciary have published a frequently asked questions document on Employment Tribunals during the coronavirus for parties who are representing themselves and professional representatives.
- The Judiciary have published a frequently asked questions document for the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) during the coronavirus to assist users to better understand the services the Tribunal is currently providing.
- Mental Health Tribunal telephone hearing guidance. .
- First Tier Immigration and Asylum Tribunal operational update. .
- Upper Tier Immigration and Asylum Tribunal operational update. .
- The Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber has made changes to the way it currently works. Since Thursday 30 April 2020, all Judicial Review applications can be lodged using email. .
Royal Courts of Justice
- The Royal Courts of Justice Operational Update: .
- The High Court is covering work according to the High Court Contingency Plan. More detailed guidance for the Administrative Court Office. More detailed guidance for the Queen’s Bench. .
- The Court of Appeal Civil Division is covering work according to the RCJ Court of Appeal Civil urgent business priorities. .
- The Court of Appeal Criminal Division is covering work according to the RCJ Court of Appeal Criminal Emergency Plan. .
- The Royal Courts of Justice Fees Office reopened on Monday 1 June 2020. .
Judicial announcements
Previous editions
- Week commencing Monday 6 July 2020
- Week commencing Monday 29 June 2020
- Week commencing Monday 22 June 2020
- Week commencing Monday 15 June 2020
- Week commencing Monday 8 June 2020
- Week commencing Monday 1 June 2020
- Week commencing Monday 25 May 2020
- Week commencing Monday 18 May 2020
- Week commencing Monday 11 May 2020
- Week commencing Monday 4 May 2020
- Friday 24 April 2020
Published 24 April 2020
Last updated 10 July 2020 + show all updates
Last updated 10 July 2020 + show all updates
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Update for week commencing 13 July 2020 published.
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Added translation
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Update for week commencing 6 July 2020 published.
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Update for week commencing Monday 29 June 2020 published.
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Update for week commencing 22 June 2020 published.
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Update for week commencing 15 June 2020 published.
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Update for week commencing 8 June 2020 published.
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Update for w/c 1 June 2020 published.
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Update for w/c 25 May 2020 added.
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Update for w/c 18 May 2020 added.
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Updaye for w/c 11 May added.
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Updated for week commencing 4 May 2020 added.
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Added translation