Latest citizen court users' experience poll paints a rosy picture
The latest Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) citizen users’ experience survey has found high levels of contentment and trust in the system.
The survey found that 26%of court users who were asked about their encounter with the system rated it as “very good,” while 29% said it was “fairly good.” Among the respondents, 16% were neutral, saying the experience was “neither good nor poor.” However, 38% or respondents said it was “fairly poor” or “very poor.”
Most court users also trust HMCTS to administer the justice system, with 73% saying this is true to a great extent and 41% saying to some extent. Users who had a good experience were more likely to trust the system than those who had a bad experience (91% compared to 34%). Users who were also satisfied with the outcome of their case were significantly more likely to trust HMCTS than those who were dissatisfied (92% vs 38%), the survey said.
According to the survey, 52% said they strongly felt respected by the courts and tribunals, while 25% said they felt they were somewhat respected. Users who had a good experience were more likely to have felt treated with respect (93% vs 51%). Users who were satisfied with the outcome of their case were also more likely to have felt treated with respect (93% vs 56%).
The survey also ranked drivers from being most influential to being least influential to user experience. Most influential was being listened to, followed by being provided good information and being able to do what is needed. Least influential to the user experience was time taken, followed by physical environment and understanding what is happening.
A representative group of 1,031 courts and tribunals users in England and Wales took part in the survey. There were 334 involved in criminal cases, 205 in civil cases, 194 in tribunal cases, and 286 in family cases.
