Policy paper

HMCTS Vulnerability Action Plan April 2022 update

Updated 12 December 2023

1. Introduction

Coming to court can be a daunting experience for anyone, but it can be an even bigger challenge for the most vulnerable in our society. The HMCTS Vulnerability Action Plan supports our aim to make courts and tribunals accessible for all. It sets out the work we’re doing to ensure our vulnerable users are not disadvantaged or discriminated against, as we deliver services now, during COVID-19 recovery and in the future.

Our commitment is to ensure that we’re listening to our partners who support vulnerable groups, as well as vulnerable people themselves, and adapting and improving our services to meet their needs. We’re also working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and other government departments to make sure we provide the right level of support, so that our vulnerable users can always access the justice system safely and with confidence.

2. Background

During COVID-19, we changed the way courts and tribunals worked so they could continue to run safely. Our first Vulnerability Action Plan in July 2020 set out how we supported vulnerable users so that they could continue to access the justice system and engage with new ways of working. An update was published in October 2021.

We’ve now developed and extended our Vulnerability Action Plan to include the work we’re doing as part of the HMCTS reform programme to design future accessible services.

We continue to focus on three priority areas so vulnerable users can access the justice system safely and with confidence. These are:

• providing the right support vulnerable users need to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting to other sources of information and support when vulnerable users need it
• gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users
• making services accessible for vulnerable users

Our Vulnerability Action Plan is an active plan and we’ll continue to make sure our vulnerable users can access our services. We’ll do this through:

• ongoing engagement with vulnerable users and those who support vulnerable groups
• considering the impact of legislative change such as the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. the Victims Bill, and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
• implementing new cross government strategies such as the national disability strategy, the national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults, and the MoJ neurodiversity action plan

3. What we’ve done since our last update

3.1 Providing the right support vulnerable users need to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting when vulnerable users need it

Cross Jurisdictional

• introduced the new Appointed Intermediary Service in April 2022 which sets out the quality and standards required of intermediaries. Intermediaries help users who have communication needs and provide professional support so they can participate in court and tribunal proceedings.
• awarded the digital support service contract to ‘We Are Digital’, one of the UK’s leading digital skills and inclusion providers. We expect to be delivering full service and geographical coverage from May 2022 for our reformed services. Users who face digital exclusion will receive the support required to access HMCTS services and are often those that are most vulnerable.

Crime

• introduced a YouTube animation for jurors in February 2022. The link is sent after jury service has ended and provides jurors with practical advice and signposting to emotional support if they need it. This can help support those jurors that feel vulnerable and need emotional support.
• introduced a training video for staff in January 2022, which explains how to deal with requests for any additional support made by jurors with disabilities so they can fully participate in jury service. These are called reasonable adjustments.
• introduced a learning package in spring 2022 to help our staff provide effective support for victims and witnesses. This includes the importance of providing a service for victims and witnesses that meets their individual needs and will help them give their best evidence.

Civil, Family and Tribunals

• carried out service user testing to simplify the Employment Tribunals claim form. The form asks users if they would be able to take part in a remote hearing to allow the judge to agree the right type of hearing for the parties in the case. This can help support our vulnerable users in the way that best meets their needs.
• when Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) hearings are recorded it’s used as ‘the record of proceedings’. For digital cases the user can request and access this online but where the user is not able to access the recording online they can request it in an alternative format.

3.2 Gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users

Cross Jurisdictional

• published the findings from the evaluation of remote hearings report, which recommended more support for vulnerable users and increasing awareness of the support available to public users when attending a remote hearing. They also recommended the development and promotion of training and guidance for staff on the management of interpreters and intermediaries in remote hearings. The findings will help us address issues, such as communication and access to support for all our users including those that are vulnerable.

Examples of user feedback from remote hearings report:

Doesn’t really feel the same stress or anticipations as a court, takes out a lot of negatives.

They don’t have to travel to the hearing so can avoid public transport.

Financially and mentally, it removes a lot of stress.

Crime

• evaluated the enforcement team training on identifying and responding to the needs of vulnerable people. This will inform how we develop the training for other HMCTS staff.

3.3 Making services accessible for vulnerable users

Cross jurisdictional

• developed a learning product and improved guidance for our staff to support them in considering our public sector equality duty (PSED) when introducing change to ensure service users are not disadvantaged or discriminated against.
• published guidance on GOV.UK to help people understand what to expect in a Cloud Video Platform (CVP) hearing and give participants a chance to familiarise themselves with the process before the hearing. There is also a support number which users can call.
• in partnership with the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and the Judiciary, we’ve produced a set of films to help users of the justice system access and participate in online hearings and improve understanding of court processes. The films are available with subtitles in six languages along with a British Sign Language version of each.

Crime

• expanded the scheme for vulnerable victims and witnesses to give pre-recorded evidence at all Crown Courts. Victims or witnesses can give evidence well in advance of a trial - so they no longer have to physically attend court on the hearing day.

Civil, Family and Tribunals

• improved the Family Law Act injunction application form and introduced a witness statement template for applicants. The form provides important information, about keeping contact details confidential, a specific instruction to avoid entering details of a refuge on the application form and details of special measures that may be available.
• improved our divorce application guidance, using easier to understand language to reduce the number of rejected cases due to incorrect completion. We’ve updated signposting on GOV.UK and the digital application form provides contact information if further help or support is needed. New laws which came into effect in April 2022 streamline the divorce process further and allow couples to divorce without assigning blame, which aims to reduce conflict and disputed cases.
• introduced remote hearings in Special Educational Needs (SEN) tribunals, which has meant that parties, and particularly parents of children with SEN or a young person with SEN, no longer have to travel to the hearing. This also means that parents no longer need to bring a carer with them to look after the child if the child is not in the hearing itself.
• delivered 200 protective screens to our Family Courts, which means that victims of domestic abuse can avoid seeing the accused perpetrator during the court hearing.
• introduced a freephone number for parties joining Social Security and Child Support CVP hearings via telephone.

4. Our plan

4.1 Providing the right support vulnerable users need to access and participate in court and tribunal services and signposting when vulnerable users need it

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
introducing a new HMCTS safeguarding policy, guidance and staff training to make sure we have the skills and knowledge to support vulnerable users who may need safeguarding	throughout 2022	cross jurisdictional
testing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme in the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ), Wigan Combined Court and Manchester Crown and magistrates’ courts as part of our commitment in the cross government autism strategy, and evaluating the scheme to inform potential roll out across all HMCTS sites to support users with hidden disabilities	spring to summer 2022	cross jurisdictional
developing a new signposting strategy to improve the way we connect service users to external support services when needed (this work will also include introducing a staff guide on how to include effective signposting in our public information leaflets and on GOV.UK)	throughout 2022	cross jurisdictional
reviewing the organisational design of our court and tribunal hearing centres, so that public facing staff will proactively identify and help service users with additional support needs, giving clear information and signposting to other sources when required, and providing digital assistance to users during hearings	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
improving guidance and learning materials to help staff support intimidated and vulnerable witnesses who pre-record their evidence in advance of a trial (Section 28)	ongoing	crime
facilitating delivery of NHS Programmes to continue roll out of health care services within remand suites at court locations (this includes facilitating implementation of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements and expansion of Liaison and Diversion services across the Crown Courts)	ongoing	crime
working with Employment Tribunals to improve the way reasonable adjustment requests are captured, and identifying how best to action these requests, then using research to understand service requirements to meet the support needs of users with additional or complex needs	spring to summer 2022	civil, family and tribunals
reviewing the probate application process to simplify the forms and guidance to make them easier to understand (we’ll gather user feedback on the digital journey and look at ways to improve the process for all, including our vulnerable users)	summer to autumn 2022	civil, family and tribunals

Feedback on Section 28 from the Citizens Advice Witness Service:

Pre Section 28 hearing preparation is an essential part of ensuring witnesses feel prepared to give evidence, allowing support and explanations to be provided.

4.2 Gathering and collating evidence and using it to identify impacts of changes on vulnerable users

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
carrying out access to justice assessments across our services to identify where improvements can be made. Protected characteristics data is one source of information being used which will help us to gain a fuller understanding of the people who use our services, so user needs can be better supported	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
identifying what support a user has received when completing HMCTS forms, which will help us better understand user support needs, particularly if they’re vulnerable	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
continuing to support our staff to consider our Public Sector Equality Duty assessments when changing or introducing a new service	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
Using the findings from the evaluation of remote hearings report to inform our use of audio and video hearings to help us understand how the use of remote hearings impacts certain vulnerable groups	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
continuing to explore the use of protected characteristics data from jurors to help drive forward jury service improvements (it’s against the law to discriminate against anyone because of: age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation - these are called protected characteristics)	ongoing	crime
relaunching the extended operating hours pilot in our Courts and Tribunals Service Centres for six months from February 2022, across Divorce and Probate services (users will be able to access support in a way, and at a time, that is convenient for them and better meets their personal needs)	spring to autumn 2022	civil, family and tribunals

Feedback from the evaluation of remote hearings:

To be honest I really prefer it [being remote] and would really push for it in future. Being disabled, I find attending court very difficult anyway and very stressful whereas this is without stress

4.3 Making services accessible for vulnerable users

We are:	Schedule for completion	Jurisdiction involved
working with our reformed services to help them look at ways of removing the barriers which prevent access to justice, and helping services comply with online accessibility regulations to ensure that our digital services are accessible and meet the required standards	ongoing	cross jurisdictional
looking at ways to make the Royal Courts of Justice more accessible for all, aiming to improve the experience of users with disabilities and establish and embed best practice	throughout 2022	cross jurisdictional
developing guidance to support the introduction of legislation which will enable British Sign Language interpreters to be present in the jury deliberation room	spring summer 2022	crime
simplifying the adoption service for parties and focusing on the early resolution of cases is going to improve transparency as cases progress, reduce time taken to reach a final order and improve the signposting of support for birth parents, who are often vulnerable, when making applications (users unable to access online services will have the option to apply on paper and access support)	throughout 2022	civil, family and tribunals
introducing a new Video Hearings (VH) Solution for Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) appellants supporting users with additional accessibility needs	spring to summer 2022	civil, family and tribunals
capturing the support needs of vulnerable users to apply an indicator flag on a case, which will help us to identify user requirements and ensure the appropriate adjustments are available when needed	spring to summer 2022	civil, family and tribunals
building a system that enables parity of access to justice for Immigration and Asylum appellants in person against those who have legal representation with a planned evaluation of the appellant in person journey	spring to summer 2022	civil, family and tribunals
implementing the changes from the Domestic Abuse Bill 2022 to include special measures in the county court and the prohibition of cross examination in civil proceedings	summer to autumn 2022	civil, family and tribunals

5. Looking to the future

We’ll continue to review any changes we make to understand what the impacts are on vulnerable users.

We plan to consider how we evaluate the experience of victims, witnesses and defendants – particularly those deemed vulnerable and from ethnic minority backgrounds — in criminal courts’

We’ll keep talking with external stakeholders and partners and through our Public User Engagement Groups to get feedback and understand issues.

If we find negative impacts on vulnerable people using our services, we’ll continue to take steps to fix them and include them in our Vulnerability Action Plan.

We’ll continue to publish our plan on GOV.UK.