Recommendation 5

HM Government Accepted

HMCTS is developing a Remote Participation Strategy that takes a cross-jurisdictional view of how remote hearings can be used much more strategically across the justice system. While this work responds in part to the Committee’s report on the County Court, the strategy is designed to support improvements across all jurisdictions— promoting greater consistency, efficiency, and accessibility in the use of remote participation. It will address the issues highlighted in the County Court, including delays, inefficiencies, limited access, and reliance on physical infrastructure, while also aiming to ease pressure on staff and judicial resources more broadly. As part of this work, we are collaborating with the judiciary to establish a set of guiding principles and criteria to inform decisions about when and how remote hearings should be used. This includes identifying hearing types that may be appropriate to list as remote by default, and the key factors that should be considered in determining suitability. This approach is being developed with the support of the judiciary, ensuring alignment with judicial priorities and operational realities. In addition, the judiciary have published overarching judicial principles for remote participation which provides a common set of principles for determining whether remote participation is appropriate. Contacting the County Court