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General

Swindon Combined Court scam

HMCTS has been made aware of reports of scammers contacting members of the public and impersonating HMCTS staff from Swindon Combined Court. We recently put out a message on social media alerting users to this.

If you suspect you have experienced a form of fraudulent communication, do not offer any payment and report it to Action Fraud via telephone on 0300 123 2040.

You can also refer to our guidance on how to recognise and handle fraudulent communications.

Security Officer strike update

Following a recent ballot of PCS trade union members employed by our security contractor, some court and tribunal security officers took industrial action on Friday 22 September. The action is expected to continue on 25, 27 and 29 September.

Where we have reason to believe people with hearings will be impacted by the action we will make contact with details of alternative arrangements.

On Friday, the following sites were closed to the public:

Blackpool County Court and Family Court, Bradford And Keighley Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Bradford Tribunal Hearing Centre (Phoenix House), Burnley Magistrates’ Court, Chester Civil Justice Centre, Darlington Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Gateshead Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Grimsby Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Harrogate Justice Centre, Huddersfield County Court and Family Court, Kirklees (Huddersfield) Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Leeds Employment Tribunal - (City Exchange), Leeds Social Security and Child Support Tribunal (York House), Leyland Family Court, Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, Lincoln County Court, Manchester Tribunal Hearing Centre - Alexandra House (ET), Manchester Tribunal Hearing Centre - Piccadilly Exchange (IAC), North Shields County Court and Family Court, Prestatyn Justice Centre, Scarborough Justice Centre, Skipton Magistrates’ and County Court, Stockport Magistrates’ Court and Family Court, Tameside Magistrates’ Court, Wakefield Civil and Family Justice Centre, Welshpool Magistrates’ Court, Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court, Wirral Magistrates’ Court, York County Court and Family Court.

Please check the Find a Court or Tribunal website for the latest information on each of our buildings.

Accessing online services

Following a temporary outage, users are now able to access our online services for the Tax Tribunal. Thank you for your patience whilst we worked to resolve the issue. This follows our update in last week’s newsletter, that the Help with Fees, Employment Tribunal refunds and Employment Tribunal ET1 and ET3 online services have been resolved and are now available.

Crime

Reading Crown Court

Reading Crown Court is holding a heritage open day on Saturday 14 October 2023 for 10am to 2:30pm. All ages are welcome, and visitors will be able to sit in on mock trials, ask questions to judges, tour the courtrooms and cells, have their fingerprints taken for fun and much more.

The event will offer a unique insight into the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and provide the local community with an understanding of the inner workings of the criminal court.

For any questions or queries, please contact: debbie.burgess@justice.gov.uk.

Common Platform

Reminder: Join a PET and BCM webinar

Throughout October and into early November, HMCTS is running a series of webinars to support defence professionals in using Common Platform effectively, particularly digitised Preparation for Effective Trial (PET) and Better Case Management (BCM) forms.

Attendees can ask questions about any aspect of using Common Platform and get tailored support.

Sessions run at 8.30am and 5.30pm and there are still places available.

Get help with using Common Platform

Legal professionals can join one of our regular online support sessions to get help with:

• activating or logging into your account
• accessing case information
• checking in for a hearing
• any other aspect of Common Platform

Sessions take place on 📅 Tuesdays at 🕐 4:30pm and 📅 Thursdays at 🕐 9am.

For details on using Common Platform, watch our videos on how to use Common Platform and account registration and security. You can also read our how-to guides. 

Civil

Damages Claims and Online Civil Money Claims services update

Legal professionals using the Damages Claims and Online Civil Money Claims services can now update their details if they take on a case from another professional.

This update went live during out of business hours on 19 September. Therefore, the update applies to claims that were created, and had the claim issue fee paid, from 20 September.

Both sides in the case must be legally represented. In the Damages Claims service, claims issued against a defendant litigant in person will now stay online after being issued.

An additional information screen displays new steps for legal professionals to follow, for serving on the litigant in person.

The claim will remain online if a legal representative has assigned themselves to it and responds to the claim within the first 14 days. 

To use these new features, legal professionals must be registered on MyHMCTS.

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