HMCTS – Safely increasing capacity in our buildings from 19 July 2021
The government has confirmed that the legal requirement for social distancing in England will be removed from today (Monday 19 July 2021), as well as the detail of which other aspects of step 4 on the roadmap will be adopted.
In Wales, meanwhile, it is hoped most restrictions will be lifted on 7 August 2021. In Scotland, it is hoped that all major restrictions will be lifted on 9 August 2021.
We have published our updated guidance for all court and tribunal users during the COVID-19 pandemic, Organisational Risk Assessment and assessment tool, and keeping our buildings safe, secure and clean which forms the basis on which we are working from today (19 July 2021). As ever this may be further refined in the light of any additional guidance that is issued.
Our Acting CEO Kevin Sadler also published a blog last week which provided details on the changes we’ll be making to some of the measures in our courts and tribunals in England to safely increase capacity. We’ll do our best to respond to any questions with the information available to us, making use of our existing regular meetings and communication channels to update you whenever we can.
In addition, we’ve organised an online panel discussion for legal professionals on Tuesday 27 July 2021 from 5pm to 6pm. The session will discuss how we are responding to Step 4 of the government’s roadmap out of national restrictions for England. The event will be chaired by Paul Harris, HMCTS Operations Director, with questions and feedback steered by legal professional body representatives who will also sit on the panel, including representatives from The Law Society, Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association and CILEX. Registration for the event is now open.