Court hearings held remotely in lockdown disadvantage vulnerable people, lawyers and charities warn.
In June 2020, the BBC Shared Data Unit reported concerns over the impact of remote court hearings on disadvantaged and vulnerable people.
During the pandemic, the number of virtual hearings held in England and Wales increased five-fold, but family law practitioners said video and phone calls were not suitable for some sensitive cases.
There were also concerns over inequality of access to the internet and suitable technology for hearings, and the loss of opportunities to support vulnerable individuals in the court system.
A key consideration regarding closures was a desire to modernise the court system and use more technology to allow video hearings and other remote communication.
Family lawyers warned remote technology was not an 'adequate substitute' for face-to-face hearings and called for careful consideration going forward.
This story took its starting point from House of Commons data on the average distance people have to travel to attend Magistrates' Court before and after decisions in 2010 to close court buildings.
- Family solicitor, who did not want to be named
- Edward Cooke, family lawyer
- Valerie Cox, family lawyer
- Claire Ely, head of innovative practice, Community Advice, run by the Centre for Justice Innovation, an independent service that directs defendants in Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court to help with benefits, addictions and mental health problems and other issues
- Mary Marvel, legal information website Advicenow
- Spokesperson, HM Courts and Tribunals Service
- Dumbbell plot: Average distances to magistrates court: 2010 vs 2020
The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:
- Chichester Observer: Calls for Chichester’s former court buildings to be brought back into use 18 June 2020
- Cumbria News & Star: Worries over virtual court 5 June 2020
- Cumberland News & Star: Lockdown highlights hardships faced by Cumbria’s most disadvantaged residents in accessing justice 8 June 2020
- East Anglian Daily Times: Concern over video court hearings becoming norm after lockdown 4 June 2020
- Pontefract & Castleford Express: Remote court hearings held during lockdown have disadvantaged vulnerable people, charities say 8 June 2020
- Rochdale Online: Remote hearings 'could disadvantage more vulnerable people', lawyers and charities warn 11 June 2020
- Wigan Today: Court hearings by video and over phone should be short-term, say legal experts 5 June 2020
The shared dataset is available here, and the full briefing pack to partners is available here