Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Rejected
Paragraph: 59
Consider expanding digital portal to include all court information, results, and restrictions.
Recommendation
We request further information on when this service will go live and what improvements are planned to the level of information on the lists and the accessibility of the service. We recommend that HMCTS considers whether the proposed digital portal should be expanded to include all court information, including results, reporting restrictions and court documents.
Government Response Summary
The government confirmed the new CATH service is live for SJP lists and will expand to civil, family, and other tribunals throughout 2023, but stated it has no plans to publish results, reporting restrictions, or court documents via this service due to resource implications.
Paragraph Reference:
59
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
64. Information on the new CATH service is outlined in paragraphs 12 to 14. The new service is already live and publishing Single Justice Procedure (SJP) lists for both the press and public. The SJP press list is available to accredited members of the media who sign into a verified part of the service. The information contained in the public list will replicate what is already published in traditional listings. 65. We anticipate CATHs publishing lists for civil and family courts by April 2023, with Social Security and Child Support Tribunal lists following shortly after. Other hearing lists will be published during 2023 and beyond – as soon as those remaining courts and tribunals start using the HMCTS reform programme’s scheduling and listing solution called List Assist.62 66. However, the aforementioned call for evidence will ask for stakeholders’ views on listings and what would be most useful for a range of court users and observers. We will carefully consider this feedback and share it with the independent judiciary (recognising that listing is a judicial function). 60 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rules-and-practice-directions-2020 61 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-staff-on-supporting-media-access-to-courts-and- tribunals (see the criminal jurisdictional guidance). 62 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmcts-services-scheduling-and-listing-project 67. As outlined above, the CATH service will publish all court and tribunal lists in one place. At this stage, we do not have plans to publish results, reporting restrictions, or court documents via this service, although the service is being futureproofed by including this functionality in its design. This will require careful consideration due to the varying rules and practices in each jurisdiction and the implications for information and data management. Enabling this functionality, especially the storage and sharing of case files, would require considerable resources which is not within the scope of the HMCTS reform programme.