TO ALL PRACTITIONERS USING THE FAMILY COURT AND CIVIL COUNTY COURT – AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT CONTACTING THE COURT BY TELEPHONE.
Please see below a copy of a letter that has been issued by Deborah Smith, the Leeds Delivery Manager.
The change comes into effect on 22.01.25.
Important: please note this migration only applies to County Court Civil and all Family matters.
Any other calls—such as those for High Court (including Administrative Court and the Business and Property Courts), Court of Protection or Criminal Court—will remain unchanged.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Customer,
New telephony service – Advanced Notice
This is an advanced notice of a change of telephony service from this court. This change is part of our ongoing commitment to improve our services and ensure a seamless experience for you.
As of the 22nd January 2025, we will no longer be accepting direct calls for Family Court and Civil County Court enquiries at this court (save for County Court work which is proceeding at the time of the call as Business and Property Court work – see the note at the end of this letter). Instead, you will be able to reach us at our contact centre in HMCTS National Services by dialling 0300 123 5577. Your call will be handled by a dedicated member of our National Customer Contact Team who are trained in the Family Court and Civil County Court process. For contact outside of this remit such as High Court (including Administration court and the Business and Property Courts), County Court Business and Property Court work, Court of Protection and Criminal Court queries, these will continue to be handled directly by the court.
This change is driven by our HMCTS strategy of call centralisation and aligns with our ongoing efforts to streamline service delivery. By moving Civil & Family telephony contact from the courts to the National Services’ customer contact team, we aim to enhance efficiency, allowing courts to focus resources on core administrative tasks, and facilitating court proceedings. We kindly ask for your support and understanding as we make this transition.
The contact centre will be open from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank holidays.
Please Note:
We ask that you continue your usual practices for contacting the court until the change on the 22 January 2025. If you call the National Team before the 22 January 2025, they may not be able to assist.
We appreciate your patience and support as we transition our telephony to our national call centre.
Yours sincerely,
Deborah Smith
Delivery Manager
Note regarding Business and Property Work
Business and Property Court Work is not affected by this change. Therefore any calls relating to High Court work proceeding in the Business and Property Courts or a case which at the time of the call is proceeding as Business and Property Work within the County Court (including contested bankruptcy proceedings transferred in accordance with paragraph 3.6 of the Practice Direction: Insolvency Proceedings) will continue as present. An explanation of what work should be proceeding as Business and Property Work can be found in paragraph 4.2 of Practice Direction 57AA – Business and Property Courts (paragraph 2AA-15 of the White Book).
______________________________________________________________________________
Please further note that with immediate effect the Family Office at Westgate Magistrates Court will no longer be staffed. The Circuit Judges Clerks will be based at the main Oxford Row building.
Therefore the family counter will only be staffed during set times: 09.00 to 11.00am and 1pm to 2.30pm. There is a notice on the counter on level 4 advising customers of this change
______________________________________________________________________________
For Business and Property Work a reminder that the current arrangements that remain can be found in the FAQs regarding the facilities at Grace Street that is on the Leeds Law Society website:
https://www.leedslawsociety.org.uk/news-resources/court-notice-board/business-and-property-courts-new-facilities-leeds-west-gate-grace-street-leeds/
If you have any questions relating to this, please contact Sue Harris via sue.harris@walkermorris.co.uk
Web
