New and updated toolkits at the Advocate’s Gateway

Updated toolkits

December 2015 sees the publication of updated toolkits, edited by practitioner and academic specialists. Each updated toolkit is now fully indexed and contains the latest examples of good practice. Toolkits currently available from 1a through to 7 published in 2011/12 will now be replaced with six new toolkits.  These will cover topics such as: learning disability, case management and hidden disabilities. Professor Cooper said:

‘TAG is constantly developing to reflect the latest practice and most up to date research. Since the toolkits were originally published there have been marked changes such as an increase in the use of intermediaries and ground rules hearings including in family cases. Judges also frequently require advocates to write out and collaborate on their proposed cross-examination questions. As well as reflecting these changes, the new toolkits are designed to be more easily navigable and more widely applicable across all the courts and tribunals. These resources remain free for everyone and will continue to be regularly updated.’

The titles of the new toolkits are as follows:

1a Case Management When a Witness or Defendant is Vulnerable

2 General Principals from Research, Policy and Guidance: Planning to Question a Vulnerable Person or Someone with Communication Needs

4 Planning to Question Someone with a Learning Disability

5 Planning to Question Someone with ‘Hidden’ Disabilities: Specific Language Impairment, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and AD(H)D

6 Planning to Question a Child or Young Person

7 Additional Factors Concerning Children Under 7 (or Functioning at a Very Young Age)

Good practice examples

A five-year-old was sent a series of photo letters to be shared with her by her foster carers, preparing her for each step pre-trial and at trial.

A child with autism struggled to make sense of livelink. His need for space and his behaviour when stressed meant that bringing counsel to the livelink room for questioning would not have helped. The livelink room was cleared of all risky or distracting objects; all microphones in the court room were switched off when not in use to reduce background noise; the picture-in-picture was covered with a small towel so he did not need to see himself on screen; sound and vision were switched off for frequent brief breaks; blinds were drawn so light levels were stable.

At the pre-trial visit the intermediary asked the court usher to play the role of the advocate and gave him a list of neutral questions about the child’s recent visit to the beach. The usher then questioned the child over the live link and the child was able to practise responding to questions using this method and was then also familiar with the intermediary’s support for communication during questioning.

A statement was printed in large plain font onto tinted paper for someone with dyslexia.

The style of the more recently published toolkits such as Toolkit 16 Intermediaries step by step and Toolkit 17 Vulnerable Witnesses and Parties in the Civil Courts is down to listening to feedback from practitioners. Professor Cooper said, ‘We are always keen to respond to practitioner feedback and to increase the ease of access for busy practitioners. More and more we see that toolkits are being accessed at on tablets in a wide variety of cases, including family matters. The revised toolkits are more easily navigable and of significance to advocates across all areas of practice’.

Support from all has been very strong, this has been in part thanks to the judicial endorsement the toolkits have received. To date, the toolkits have been cited as best practice by members of the judiciary such as The Rt Hon Sir Brian Leveson in his review of the efficiency in criminal proceedings earlier this year. Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, also gave commendation for the toolkits in his 12th View from the President's Chamber: The process of reform: next steps last year, and in his keynote address at the TAG International Conference Addressing Vulnerability in Justice Systems held in June at the Law  Society. It was Sir Munby’s interest in the work of TAG that led to Professor Cooper sitting on the family court's children and vulnerable witness group and her involvement in the development of a new draft Family Procedure Rules for vulnerable witness and parties (consultation responses are currently under review).

Since the launch of the website the toolkits have been used in thousands of criminal cases, family cases and tribunals. The Court of Protection is now also actively considering its approach to vulnerable witnesses and parties. As Toolkit 2 reminds us: 

‘The most significant factor in effective communication with a vulnerable person or somebody with communication needs is the questioner’s ability to adopt an appropriate manner and tailor questions to the needs and abilities of the individual (Agnew et al, 2006; Bull, 2010; Powell et al, 2013), enabling the person to understand questions and give answers that he or she believes to be correct.’