Recommendation 25

HM Government Acknowledged

77. HMCTS has put in place arrangements for social distancing and for the mitigation of the risks associated with the pandemic, in consultation with Public Health England and Public Health Wales. This includes the use of live links where the judiciary consider it to be appropriate. These arrangements have, since July, enabled Youth Courts to conclude more cases every week than have been received, with the safety of all those involved in these hearings being paramount. 78. There is a range of guidance available regarding the use of remote hearings for children, to ensure all parties attending a proceeding are adequately supported throughout the process. HMCTS has also produced guidance for participants to set out the role and purpose of expanding remote hearings in response to the restrictions caused by Covid- 19.24 79. The court will always have the final say on whether it is appropriate for a remote hearing to take place and will have to be satisfied that it is in the interests of justice to do so. The decision to allow remote participation is therefore a judicial one decided on a case-by-case basis. The court will be required to consider all the circumstances of the case, including the views of the person participating and whether they will be able to take part effectively. 80. When a hearing notification goes out, participants have the opportunity to tell the court or tribunal if they need support or cannot participate effectively in the audio or video hearing. The Judge can then either change the method of the hearing or reasonable adjustments will be made, wherever possible, to ensure users can participate. There is a technical support line to assist remote hearing users to access their hearing and court staff are trained to support disabled people and those using assistive technology. In June 2020, HMCTS released a cross-jurisdictional reasonable adjustments guide for providing support to those with disabilities during remote hearings.25 81. The use of video links in relation to proceedings involving children in police detention is also a matter for the judiciary. HMCTS together with YJB have released guidance setting out principles before giving practical guidance on procedure for the use of video links in relation to proceedings involving children in police detention to ensure that children are supported throughout.26 82. HMCTS is currently conducting an evaluation of remote hearings during the pandemic to inform their use in the longer-term. This also includes youth cases as they can appear remotely. Its findings will help us to address issues around user experience, the administration of and staff support for hearings, and technology and audio-video quality standards. 83. The evaluation will include analysis of monitoring data, user surveys, and qualitative depth-interviews with different types of user (e.g. judges, legal professionals and public users). It will collect evidence on the volumes, characteristics and outcomes of remote hearings, and will explore how experiences and perceptions varied for different users. Findings will be available in spring 2021. 84. Significant work is being undertaken within HMCTS to carefully consider the impact that Covid-19 has had on the youth court and to develop measures that reduce the backlog while prioritising time-sensitive cases. The judiciary has also re-published a note of listing in magistrates’ courts the during Covid-19 outbreak, where it highlights the impact on the remand status of youth defendants (for example where delay might mean a relevant age-threshold is crossed).27