Update from HMCTS: Piloting Flexible Operating Hours

Published 29/03/2017

Here is an update from HMCTS which we received 28/03/2017: HM Courts and Tribunals service would like to keep you updated on our latest modernisation plans. This latest update is about piloting flexible operating hours in courts and tribunals.

We are investing over £1 billion to reform our courts and tribunals to deliver swifter justice, that is modern, more accessible and better meets the needs of all of our service users. We have recently developed proposals to test flexible operating hours in courts and tribunals and have discussed these at a number of the engagement groups we host. We are proposing to run flexible operating hours in six pilot courts to test how we can improve access to justice for everyone, by making the service more convenient, and use court rooms as effectively as possible. We aim to start the pilots from May 2017 for six months.

Why are we piloting?

A major driver of the HMCTS Change programme is making sure our future services better meet the needs of those who use them. These pilots will help us test ways in which our courts and tribunals can do this and how we can better support working citizens to access justice more easily and at their convenience.

In addition, we believe that there are opportunities for us to make more effective use of our courts and tribunals estate. Flexible operating hours is one of the ways in which we may be able to achieve this. It is, however only part of the full picture of a transformed justice system which would also include increased use of virtual hearings, allowing more flexibility over appearance location, and access to more services through online channels.

The purpose of the pilots is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how adopting flexible operating hours working might affect all court users and professionals: victims, witnesses, appellants, defendants and jurors as well as legal professionals, the judiciary and court staff.

Working in partnership

To support this, the flexible operating hours project has formed a National Steering group composed of representatives from the Judiciary, Crown Prosecution Service, National Offender Management Service, National Probation Service, Legal Aid Agency and the Police. We have worked closely with the group and other partners across the justice system to develop the proposals for pilots and understand how flexible operating hours may be able to give increased flexibility for all court users including professionals. We have also discussed the proposals with all of our public user engagement groups and will continue to provide updates to you through these fora during the pilots.

Proposed locations

The provisional pilot sites we have identified for flexible operating hours include:

Crown Court – Newcastle Crown Court & Blackfriars Crown Court
Magistrates’ Courts – Sheffield Magistrates’ Court & Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court
Civil/ Civil & Family Courts – Brentford County Court & Manchester Combined Justice Centre.

Local Delivery

Local Implementation Teams will lead the pilots with judiciary and cross-agency representation. This will make sure that our pilots are developed and informed by those delivering our services and who understand the needs of the local service users

How will we understand the impact of changes?

Critical to the project will be the development of robust and detailed evaluation that gives clear insight into where and how the impacts of flexible operation hours are most felt (positively and negatively) and by whom. This will help us to understand whether flexible operating hours can enable an efficient and effective justice system which is considerate of the needs of the people and professionals who use it.

In coming weeks, we intend to work closely with partners across the justice system, including user representative groups, such as yourself, to develop our evaluation approach from all perspectives. We will seek your input to ensure that we are testing against the right criteria and are able to include any key areas of interest in the evaluation.

For more information

For further enquiries please contact Mark Buttanshaw ([email protected]) and Nicola Kefford ([email protected])