By Ashley Young-
British lawyers are calling for HM Courts & Tribunals Service boss Kevin Sadler to step up safety measures at court or face a ‘political, legal and industrial’ response.
The call has been signed by the Criminal Bar Association, Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association, London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association, Solicitors’ Association of Higher Courts Advocates, Public and Commercial Services Union.
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The National Association of Probation Officers and Family Courts, and Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers are also among those calling for a change.
The bodies call for an immediate review of safety arrangements across the court estate , contradicting claims that HMCTS has made.
‘Confirmation of over 600 positive cases amongst professional court users since 24 November across the HMCTS estate, evidences the alarming extent of the crisis emerging in the justice sector. If HMCTS continue to fail to take remedial action to ensure that transmission levels are significantly reduced and professional, lay and public court users remain safe then further action will be necessary,’ they said.
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‘Despite HMCTS continuing to give assurances that they are implementing all available measures the evidence and repeated concerns raised demonstrate that these measures are inadequate. The recurrent claims that courts and tribunals are safe and covid-19 secure bear no resemblance to the reality of the conditions in most buildings across the estate,’ the statement says.
The statement says: ‘We expect HMCTS to rectify the current situation by taking the appropriate actions necessary to ensure the safety of all who attend court. Failure to do so will result in potential political, legal and industrial responses from some of the signatory organisations of this statement.’
The joint statement follows calls by the Law Society for a two-week pause on all Crown court and magistrates’ court non-custody work.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Throughout this pandemic the government has been clear that justice must continue to be done. Every building we operate meets the government’s Covid-secure guidelines, and public health experts have confirmed our arrangements remain sufficient to deal with the new strain of the virus.
‘Positive test numbers are consistent with the wider community and it’s likely that the vast majority contracted the virus outside courts. It is simply untrue to suggest people are at an elevated risk of infection when at a court or tribunal.’
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