Welcome to the HMCTS Crime Reform Programme online survey for defence practitioners.



What is this?

This survey is part of the evaluation of the HMCTS Reform Programme in the Crime jurisdiction, which aims to modernise courts by developing its digital services. This has involved replacing legacy systems and paper-based or manual processes for storing case information and documents with a new system, Common Platform.

You may have directly used Common Platform, but the legacy systems and processes used for the same tasks were mostly used by HMCTS staff. You might have sent HMCTS staff or CPS staff paper documents or secure emails or asked them for case information.

HM Courts and Tribunals (HMCTS) has commissioned IFF Research to evaluate the Crime Reform Programme.

As you have been registered to use Common Platform as part of your work, we’d like to hear about your experiences of Common Platform. We would like to get your views on what works well and what you’d like to see improve.

Unless specified otherwise, we’d like you to comment on Common Platform over the most recent six months in which you used it, rather than across its whole history.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. It will help to understand how Common Platform is working for people like you who have been using it, and help HMCTS to improve the service.

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

All responses are confidential and will be anonymised. The data will form part of a published report. All data will be combined and presented so it does not identify individuals.

You have a right to have a copy of your data, change your data, or withdraw from the research at any point until analysis begins on 15th October 2026. If you’d like to do this, please email IFF Research at CrimeProgrammeResearch@iffresearch.com or visit the website the IFF website: www.iffresearch.com/gdpr.

How do I take part?

Start by clicking the ‘Next’ button below. You can pause the survey at any time using the pause button at the bottom of the screen. When you click the same link again, it will resume where you left off.
FAQs

How did you get my information?
HMCTS securely passed your contact details on to us as you have registered to use Common Platform as a defence practitioner.

How will my data be stored and processed?
Your data will be stored securely and processed to evaluate the effectiveness of Common Platform. Throughout this process, your data will be treated in strictest of confidence and in accordance with the law. Your data will be stored securely and deleted safely according to the privacy notice. Under data protection law, you have the right to have a copy of your data, change your data, or withdraw from the research at any point until analysis begins on 15th October 2026. If you’d like to do this, you can consult our website at www.iffresearch.com/gdpr or contact Will Douch at IFF at CrimeProgrammeResearch@iffresearch.com.

All responses are confidential and will be anonymised. The data will form part of a published report. All data will be combined and presented so it does not identify individuals. We will store your survey responses securely, in line with GDPR policy and the Privacy Policy. At no stage during the evaluation will your identity be apparent to anyone other than to members of the project team at IFF Research, who will process your data entirely lawfully. It will not be possible to identify you in the results or the report.

Who can I contact to find out more?
If you have any questions about taking part in this trial, you can contact Will Douch at IFF at CrimeProgrammeResearch@iffresearch.com.

If you would like to verify the authenticity of this research, you can contact the Market Research Society (MRS) on 0800 975 9596 or HMCTS by emailing Andreea Burlibasa at HMCTS.evaluation@justice.gov.uk.