30 Acknowledged

Remote hearings negatively impact Family Court capacity and the overall quality of justice.

Conclusion
We are concerned that the current approach to remote hearings in the Family Court is having a negative effect both on court capacity but also on the quality of the justice itself. Whilst we note that a significant proportion of users are said to prefer remote hearings, the interest of justice should be placed above what is most convenient to users of the court. (Paragraph 104) County Court
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's concern and states it has committed to evaluating the impact of remote hearings as part of HMCTS’ Reform program, using learnings from the pandemic to inform remote hearing policy.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government Acknowledged
We have committed to evaluating the impact of remote hearings as part of HMCTS’ Reform program and will take the learning and evaluation flowing from the use remote hearings during the Pandemic to help inform both remote hearing policy and how best video can be utilised across the criminal justice system.
Addressee Bodies
Ministry of Justice
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.1 yrs
Report published 27 Apr 2022