HMCTS services: Courts and Tribunals Service Centres
Courts and Tribunals Service Centres (CTSCs) were introduced to centralise administration and allow courts and tribunals to focus on hearings.
CTSCs are the first port of call for members of the public who want more information on their case. They allow us to answer calls, emails and queries much more quickly and reliably – improving access to justice by providing a system that is more efficient and consistent, and as a result, more effective.
We have opened three CTSCs in Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Loughborough so far. We’ll be opening a fourth CTSC in Salford Quays in 2021.
We expect that the Salford Quays CTSC will support crime work as they rollout a new criminal case management system called Common Platform, starting with ‘early adopter’ courts and with some civil and family work.
Key statistics
- 90% of users rated our recently introduced webchat service as ‘good’ or ‘very good’
- 1.3 million queries handled by CTSCs so far
- 3 CTSCs currently open
Aims and progress
| Objectives | Achievements | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Providing a system for answering queries that is more efficient, more consistent and more effective | Opened three new service centres within two years, with plans to open a fourth | Introduced a new webchat service that has been rated as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ by 90% of users |
| Centralising administration to allow courts and tribunals to focus on hearings | Supported digital services for probate, family public law, divorce and financial remedy, online civil money claims, crime and the single justice service, immigration and asylum, social security and child support | Improved average times to complete cases; and in October 2020, issued over 8,000 grants of probate |
| Supported video hearings pilots by providing administrative back-up | Handled more than 1 million queries through calls and webchat since opening | |
| As part of HMCTS’ coronavirus (COVID-19) response, ensured that services continued and introduced an additional audio/video support line for remote hearings | Our digital services allowed us to continue, and improve, our support for vulnerable users throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (initial feedback from our users show over 80% rated their call as being very good or good, over 80% felt we answered their query first time and over 90% said we listened and treated them with respect) | |
| Implemented a customer feedback channel to allow users to provide real time feedback to allow us to continually improve our services |
Working in Loughborough Courts & Tribunals Service Centre
A modern, spacious, office environment
As the country entered a lockdown in March 2020, many areas of life were put on pause.
At HMCTS, our immediate response to the coronavirus pandemic was to adapt our approach so that we could maintain justice. We ensured that hearings could continue, either safely in our courtrooms, or through remote hearings.
Our CTSCs also adapted to the new environment, with staff embracing new working methods to ensure that justice continued.
Loughborough CTSC formally launched in March 2020, with one floor opening for staff to answer calls, emails and queries about cases.
As the centre launched right at the start of lockdown, social distancing was introduced and we provided staff with laptops so that they could work at home and continue to answer calls and queries from people about their cases.
Building work continued during the pandemic and the full site opened in October 2020.
Lucy Garrod, Programme Director for the Future Operations Programme, said:
All of the staff working at Loughborough service centre have shown great flexibility and adaptability in the way they have worked as building work continued and amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
It’s great to see that we’ve still been able to deliver despite the current challenges and I’m grateful to all the teams involved in keeping us on track and keeping the show on the road.
Looking ahead in 2021
By the end of this year the service will have:
- piloted opening CTSCs for longer hours during the week, and on Saturdays
- opened a fourth CTSC in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester
- expanded support to pilots of video hearings