Courts and Tribunals Service Centres: supporting users through centralised systems and teams
Our Courts and Tribunals Service Centres (CTSCs) were established as part of the HMCTS Reform Programme, to centralise the administration of cases for multiple digital services.
Call handlers and agents are there to support and guide users who may have questions or need information about their court or tribunal case, delivering improved access to justice.
Service Centres are one of the three pillars of our National Services, the other two being the National Business Centres (NBCs) and Enforcement, both of which existed pre-reform.
There are five Service Centres across England and Wales:
-
Stoke-on-Trent
-
Birmingham
-
Loughborough
-
Salford
-
Newport
Before 2019, it was the responsibility of individual courts and tribunals teams to handle case queries and administrative tasks, using mainly paper-based processes. This meant:
-
service delivery was inconsistent, as processes varied between courts and tribunals
-
processes were often inefficient and less flexible
-
there was an increased risk of error
-
users could not self-serve or have visibility of their case
-
users incurred costs related to postage and travel
Benefits of a centralised service
Service Centres have brought significant change to the way we deliver justice and are a truly national resource. By having everyone involved in delivering a service centrally located, and using a single system, an issue can be identified, addressed and resolved far more quickly and efficiently, without the need to send information and instructions across multiple locations.
The benefits of this are:
-
faster processing times
-
consistent service delivery across all locations
-
users and legal professionals have a single point of contact
-
greater flexibility to meet peaks in demand
-
multi-skilled teams are able to handle various tasks across the services
-
court-based staff can focus on addressing local issues across our estate
Our digital transformation
The move from paper-based to digital processes in many of our services has fundamentally changed how justice is administered.
Benefits of the digital service include:
-
real-time case visibility for users through online self-service options
-
reduced paper usage, postage and storage costs
-
service agents work from a single platform, improving efficiency and accuracy
-
instant access to case histories
-
quicker feedback and case outcomes for users
-
legal professionals can manage their applications at any time and from any device
We are aware that some users need additional support when using digital our services. That is why we:
-
offer our Digital Support Service, delivered by the We Are Group.
-
still accept paper-based applications
-
offer a range of contact methods to suit user preferences, including a webchat in certain services and traditional telephone support.
During 2024, Service Centres and National Business Centres handled over 2.8 million telephone calls. Service Centres received over 519,000 emails and replied to over 25,000 webchat messages (divorce and probate only) from the people who use our courts and tribunals, providing direct support to members of the public, professional users, members of the media, and many others.
These calls were dealt with in an average handling time of just over 14 minutes.
Contact management systems (the way we receive and handle calls, emails and webchat from our users) have changed significantly, with new technology meaning we:
-
can respond more effectively to demand
-
have better tools when handling enquiries such as knowledge articles and standard operating procedures on hand
-
can better understand reasons for contact
-
have rich data on demand, including types of interaction with users, wait times and service performance
Over 73% of users who completed the post-call survey about their telephony contact in 2024 were satisfied with their call. While feedback on their contact has been positive:
Your staff were professional, polite, compassionate, empathetic and showed good listening abilities. They addressed my concerns and queries efficiently and effectively. Great service in emotionally trying times.
Very helpful, polite and answered my questions and gave all the information needed very clearly and concisely.
Case study
Ryan and John work in one of our Service Centres. They describe their experience of supporting a caller through a very difficult situation with professionalism and care. The example also highlights the benefits of new digital services over paper, underlining the benefits of reform.
We take lots of calls from the public who have queries about their applications. However, in this particular case a gentleman called us letting us know his application had gone wrong. He was suffering with lots of personal issues and was clearly feeling suicidal.
I decided we would take responsibility for this and assured him that if there was anything that we could do to help, we will. Luckily here at the Service Centre we have many options to relieve these situations.
We soon found his file wasn’t where it was supposed to be, and the court were not aware of this. My team acted quickly to locate the file, while keeping him on board and calm. We contacted the court, where the judge understood the urgency of the case and granted an order. By taking initiative and having autonomy to make decisions we were able to make this happen quickly.
This gentleman’s case was an old-style paper case. However, if this had been a digital case what took five days to resolve, would have taken under five minutes.
That’s the power of reform, and in these situations the reform project has massively helped people in those situations.
Working together
Service Centres, courts and tribunals work hand-in-hand to provide access to justice. They are all part of the same service, wherever in England, Wales or Scotland they are based. Successful working relationships have been built by ensuring there is clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the courts, tribunals and Service Centres and establishing channels of communication, to monitor performance, analyse feedback and plan future improvements.
Future plans
Now we have embedded our services nationally, we will continue to make incremental improvements. Our plans include:
-
evolving the digital systems used in Service Centres
-
exploring how we can build on the complexity of the work we deliver
-
considering centralising more work into National Services, where it makes sense to do so
Stay updated
-
To hear more about what it’s like to work in the Service Centres visit: We are HMCTS - Welcome to the CTSC
-
For more information about our Service Centres and local courts and tribunals, visit: Find a court or tribunal - GOV.UK
-
Keep up to date with the latest HMCTS news and information by subscribing to our e-alerts and newsletters.