Complaints about UK government departments and agencies in 2017-18 

HM Courts & Tribunals Service: Improving communication with customers

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. It is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.

HMCTS is piloting a new guide for staff to help them when they write to their customers, called the “Human Voice of Justice”. The guide supports staff so that they can show they:

  • are really listening to customers
  • care about the customer experience 
  • work for an organisation that puts people first. 

The new guidance shows staff how to write in a straightforward way and with less bureaucracy. HMCTS says its staff will be using fewer technical terms and jargon in its correspondence. 

HMCTS told us it is committed to listening to the people that contact them and explaining everything clearly to them in their responses