People may no longer need to take an entire day off work to
attend court and those with caring responsibilities could find it
easier to fit in hearings at the beginning or end of a day.
The pilot has
been announced by the government today (16 November 2018)
following feedback from legal professionals across the country.
As a result of this feedback, flexible operating hours are not
being piloted in criminal courts.
Two courts in Manchester
and Brentford will run the pilots for six months, testing
whether civil and family buildings can be used more effectively;
the benefits of making it possible for people to attend court
outside of the traditional 10am – 4pm sitting day; and what more
flexibility means for staff and legal professionals.
Justice Minister, said:
We want to make our courts and tribunals more accessible to the
public. This pilot assesses whether and how we can give people
greater flexibility in their busy lives.
We listened carefully to the views of legal professionals and
others before going ahead, and as a result flexible operating
hours are not being piloted in criminal courts. We will now
test different options relating to operating hours in two civil
and family courts and an independent evaluation will be carried
out before any decisions are made about further roll-out.
The Government is investing more than £1bn to reform courts and
tribunals with the aim of making it as simple and straightforward
as possible for people who come into contact with the justice
system.
In October 2017, a Pilots Prospectus was published which sought
feedback on proposals for early and late court sittings before
the pilots began.
Case types proposed for inclusion in the pilots announced today
were chosen following input from the legal sector and local
judiciary, and views of court users and professionals will be
taken in to account in the evaluation. A full evaluation will be
conducted by an independent organisation.
Notes to editors:
- HMCTS has established cross-agency Local Implementation Teams
in Brentford and Manchester who will be responsible for
overseeing the detailed planning in each pilot site.
- Pilots are expected to begin in spring next year.
