Issue 152  25th July 2020

Face Coverings in Courts from Monday

I’m writing to inform you that from Monday 27 July 2020 we are asking all court and tribunal users to wear a face covering in the public areas of our buildings in England...

Individuals may be asked to temporarily remove their face covering for identification purposes. Court rooms themselves will be continue to be covered by the current guidance which says that court users may wear face coverings whilst in the courtroom. However, when people are speaking or presenting evidence in the courtroom, face coverings may be removed (and judges or magistrates may ask for them to be removed), and while speaking without a face covering, 2 metres social distancing will be strictly observed...

Ten Nightingale Courts Announced, Only Three For Crime

The Lord Chancellor has today (19 July 2020) announced locations for 10 ‘Nightingale Courts’ which have been rapidly set up to tackle the impact of coronavirus on the justice system.

The courts will be carrying out the following work:

• Former court building at Telford (Annex for the Telford Justice Centre), Shropshire - Civil and/or Family jurisdictions.
• Former court building at Fleetwood (Annex for Preston or Blackpool Magistrates’ Court), Lancashire - Civil and/or Family jurisdictions.
• Hertfordshire Development Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire - Civil.
• Swansea Council Chambers, Swansea – Non-custodial crime (i.e. defendant is on bail).
• Cloth Hall Court, Leeds, Yorkshire - Civil trial work and Business and Property Court.
• Middlesbrough Town Hall, Teesside - Initially Civil hearings. Later to be used for hybrid Civil hearings and Family.
• East Pallant House, Chichester, Sussex - Civil and Family work.
• 102 Petty France, Central London - Family jurisdiction.
• Prospero House, Central London - Non-custodial crime (i.e. defendant is on bail).
• The Knights’ Chamber and Visitor Centre, Gatehouse, Bishops Palace, Peterborough – non-custodial corporate crime.

New Guideline for Sentencing Offenders with Mental Disorders

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments.

The guideline, which will come into force on 1 October 2020, applies to adults who at the time of the offence and/or at the time of sentencing have disorders or impairments such as: Mental disorders – conditions like schizophrenia, depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Developmental disorders – autism or learning disability, and Neurological impairments – acquired brain injury (ABI) or dementia

The Guideline can be found here.

Bucket List Apology from HMCTS

The first thing to say is that we are very sorry this has happened – it shouldn’t have, and we’re urgently working to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again...

The practice in some courts is to put these into what is called a ‘bucket list,’ and then adjourn them off. These bucket lists have, in busier courts, grown significantly during the pandemic. The issues seen this week in Highbury and Thames was caused by a failure to adjourn the cases in good time and avoid unnecessary attendances (effectively, lists only ever intended as a ‘parking place’ ended up ‘live’, with people attending and expecting to be heard, causing the crowding and confusion you describe). The courts didn’t realise this had happened until very shortly in advance, and had several days’ worth of ‘bucket lists’ listed as live... About 20 people attended at Thames on Tuesday this week and about 50 at Highbury. All those which could not be accommodated were seen and assisted before 12pm...

Common Platform Tested in Criminal Courts

The Common Platform provides access to relevant case information for all parties involved in criminal cases, including the judiciary, solicitors and barristers, the Crown Prosecution Service and court staff. Early adopter courts across England and Wales will test the system before the subsequent rollout to all criminal courts over 12 months. This will begin in Derby and then roll out incrementally to the others in the series.

Criminal courts trialling the Common Platform:

• Derby Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
• Croydon Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
• Guildford Magistrates’ Court/Staines Magistrates’ Court and Guildford Crown Court
• Northumbria Centralised Unit which includes: North Tyneside, Mid and South-East Northumberland, Newcastle, Berwick Magistrates’ Courts and Newcastle Crown Court
• Warrington Magistrates’ Court and Chester Crown Court
• Bristol Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court
• Llanelli Magistrates’ Court and Swansea Crown Court

'Judges get 2% pay rise for Covid-19 response'

The government is rewarding judges with a 2% pay rise for their frontline work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pay award was announced by HM Treasury, which is also giving pay rises to the armed forces, teachers, police officers, the National Crime Agency, prison officers, doctors, dentists, senior civil servants and senior military personnel. Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, said: ‘These past months have underlined what we always knew – that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and that we can rely on them when we need them. It’s right therefore that we follow the recommendations of the independent pay bodies with this set of real-terms pay rises.’