By Sammie Jones-
New Service Centres in the Uk are providing quicker support for court users, reducing call waiting times drastically in the past year, according to HM Courts And Tribunal Services.
Individuals with cases managed under the Single Justice Procedure are now benefiting from quicker responses to phone calls and quicker support , thereby ensuring swifter and more efficient access to justice.
The Single Justice Procedure was introduced in 2015 and allows defendants accused of non-imprisonable, victimless offences to be tried and sentenced on the papers by a single magistrate without a hearing.
This 90% reduction in call waiting times comes after the introduction of Court and Tribunals Service Centres, which assemble trained expertise under one roof and use technology to solve queries more quickly. Court staff on the ground, who would previously answer calls, now have more time to better support both the public and legal professionals during hearings.
Jonathan Wood, HMCTS National Services Director, said:
It’s encouraging to see that the changes we made to the way we work are already improving the experience of the people who use our courts.
We are answering calls more quickly while providing better quality support specific to callers and their cases”.
REFORM PROGRAMME
Service centres are part of a £1 billion reform programme delivered by HMCTS. As well as modernizing courts and tribunals, the programme will deliver a number of service centres throughout the country to centralize services and embrace new technology to solve queries more efficiently.
Since opening the first centres in Birmingham and Stoke in January 2019, Service centres have received more than 30,000 calls relating to Transport for London, television licensing, and DVLA car tax and insurance offence cases since opening the first
HM Courts monitoring the progress of the new system say callers have experienced a fall in average waiting times from more than five minutes to just 30 seconds. They say just 2% of callers now hang up before their call is answered compared with 38% in the past Also hailed, is the introduction of a direct line for Welsh speakers, meaning their enquiry will be handled in Welsh from the very start of their call.
Service centres are now handling all inquiries about non-police SJP prosecutions, including those brought by councils, train and tram companies, the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency, Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales.