Friday 6 June 2025

A weekly round-up of the latest news and information about courts and tribunals.

Quilts at the Royal Courts of Justice

Quilts made to bring people together in the pandemic are now on display at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Launched by an employment solicitor in March 2020, the project aimed to support people who felt isolated during lockdown. The quilts were made by legal professionals, HMCTS staff, judicial office holders and their families.

Opened by the Lady Chief Justice this week, the free exhibition is housed in the Great Hall and runs until Thursday 31 July. The exhibition is open between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Important information about help for fees

Due to a temporary technical issue we are experiencing, if you're a legal professional applying for help with court and tribunal fees and your client is currently receiving qualifying benefits, you must send evidence alongside the completed application.

Please note that litigants applying in person will also need to supply evidence alongside their application.

Normal service will resume once the issue is fixed and we will confirm when this has happened. Thank you for your patience and cooperation in the meantime.

A month in HMCTS

Our latest Month in HMCTS video covering news highlights from May has now been published, including a consultation on Lancaster Crown Court and the latest podcast about our probate service.

There are also blogs highlighting how we’re improving our remote links sites and celebrating Juror Appreciation Week, as well as the publication of our remote hearings participation plan.

Scheduling and listing improvements

Since 2016, we’ve implemented two major digital solutions that are transforming how we organise the use of courtrooms and and resources.

In civil and family courts and tribunals we’ve designed and implemented ListAssist, a digital platform for listing hearings in England and Wales.

In criminal courts, we are introducing new functionality to Common Platform. This system is already used to list most criminal hearings through its scheduling and listing capabilities, so we can deliver improvements quicker and more smoothly.

Read this case study to find out how introducing a digital service to scheduling and listing has delivered substantial improvements for court users, staff and the wider justice system.

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