Making it happen
The Department wants to make substantial progress in three priority areas
- the market for legal services; modernising court services; and firming
up rights, especially for children and the most vulnerable adults.
The market for legal services
The Department is a sponsor, a regulator and a provider. It must not only
ensure good quality, affordable legal services, but also good quality information
for users and their advisers on appropriate routes towards advice, mediation
or litigation. Where the private legal services market can provide these
services at affordable cost, it should do so. Where it cannot, public provision
is the only way to deliver justice, in order to deliver the wider social
policy objectives of the Government, but it must be better targeted than
traditional legal aid.
The legal services industry is important in its own right as a generator
of wealth and economic growth; it is worth at least £l0bn a year and
earns at least £800m in invisible earnings. English common law is the
predominant law of commerce, contract and arbitration nationally and internationally;
and our courts and lawyers, especially in London, have a high international
reputation. The Department must maintain its competitive edge against growing
challenge from New York, Paris and Frankfurt. It must develop its ability
to help in the exporting of legal services and expertise; make sure that
professional rules do not unduly restrict competition and innovation; and
develop better means of consumer protection. The growth of e-commerce poses
substantially different, and greater challenges to be met nationally and
internationally.
Above all, the Department must make sure that publicly funded legal services
are better targeted so that people benefit from improved access to legal
information and help, and they are able to use their legal rights to help
fulfil their potential. Legal services must also be able to play an ever
more effective part in the Government's policies for combating social exclusion
and tackling poverty. The principal means through which this will be delivered
is the Community Legal Service (CLS), (see paragraphs
94-116 in Chapter 1) which will provide us with the ability to plan
and prioritise how taxpayers' money is used to purchase legal services.
The research paper Paths to Justice produced by Professor
Hazel Genn and the National Centre for Social Research, and published by
the Nuffield Foundation in November 1999, discussed need for legal services.
Professor Genn's paper is the most comprehensive survey to date on the experiences
of ordinary people with problems that could ultimately end up in the civil
courts. The research identified unmet need for legal advice as a key problem
in the civil justice system, but this was not simply a matter of supply,
but rather a lack of a proper referral system, lack of confidence in the
quality of advice, and not knowing where to get advice. The Government accepts
the results of the work in respect of the CLS, and it again underlines why
it is so important that the CLS should move legal services towards addressing
unmet need.
The CLS Quality Mark for legal service providers will also provide a quality
assurance for people intending to use an individual solicitors' firm or
advice agency in the CLS networks, for funders and potential funders, and
for other service providers in the local networks. All those awarded the
Quality Mark following the official launch of the CLS in April 2000, will
be required to provide certain standards of service to the public and to
participate in the referral system in their local CLS network. The referral
systems will aim to give a 'seamless' service to the public, so that a person
will be referred to the most appropriate place for their query, and enable
them to receive the right advice at the right time.
The Legal Services Commission
has a statutory duty to establish, maintain and develop the CLS. The replacement
of the existing civil legal aid scheme by the CLS Fund means that the Commission
will be able to secure the provision of quality legal services for people
who cannot afford them, matching priority needs with the available resources.
The Commission will work in partnership with local authorities, and other
funders and providers, to co-ordinate and plan the funding and delivery
of legal services based on the priority needs of local communities. This
does not mean a pooling of resources, but it will allow the different funders
to share information and achieve better value for money through being able
to work together and target funding more effectively.
25% of the population of England and Wales is already covered by Community
Legal Service Partnerships, and the Department will move to over 90% by
March 2002. A full range of performance indicators will be introduced by
Summer 2000 and these will allow full evaluation of the performance of individual
partnerships from 2000/01 onwards. The continuing evaluation of, and reporting
on, performance will itself be a substantial exercise.
The Department needs also to ensure that the Legal Services Commission
is capable of the massive business transformation necessary to ensure successful
implementation of the new arrangements. Expenditure from the Community Legal
Service Fund will be progressively controlled through the introduction of
contracting for all civil and family work, and through the new Funding Code.
This will target help to areas of high priority and weed out unmeritorious
cases. Contracts will be developed from April 200l so that fixed prices
can be set for all individual contracts, and competitive contracting can
be introduced. It will be essential to ensure that there is no drastic reduction
in the number of cases covered, and that deserving cases do receive help.
The Criminal
Defence Service (CDS), which will replace criminal legal aid from
October 2000, will ensure that quality assured defence services are provided
to those who are accused of crimes but unable to afford legal assistance,
in a way which provides value for money for the taxpayer. The CDS will provide
help where the interests of justice require it, in a way which contributes
to the achievement of the published objectives of the criminal justice system
(CJS) and meets the Department's ECHR and other international obligations.
Although the demand for criminal defence services increases with the success
of the police in bringing criminals to justice, the new system will enable
the Lord Chancellor to improve control of expenditure on criminal defence
services and to secure better value for money. However the Department will
need to examine the structural relationship between expenditure on civil
and criminal services to produce a more rational allocation system for each
element.
From October 2000 all advice, assistance and magistrates' courts' work
will be supplied by quality assured providers under contract to the Legal
Services Commission. The scope of contracts will be increased so that by
2003 the contracts will also cover all services provided by solicitors in
the Crown Court as well as the lower courts and police station work. Very
high cost cases will be managed under individual closely monitored contracts.
The piloting for this work will begin in April 2000. Some salaried defenders
are planned (the first ones to be employed during 200l).
Modernising court services
A modern, responsive system of civil and criminal courts in which all
citizens can enforce or protect their rights is a cornerstone of a modern
democratic society. The civil courts play a central role in maintaining
Britain's reputation as a leading financial and business centre, and so
contribute to the generation of economic growth. The programme to modernise
courts and tribunals would support these roles and forge links with the
market for legal services.
Many aspects of the courts and tribunals system need modernisation. The
Department proposes a fundamental review of the criminal courts from top
to bottom - the equivalent in crime of the Woolf reforms for civil justice.
But improved case management, developing IT and, consequently, improved
services for users, need not wait for that and through the Department's
proposals for the Crown Court Programme it wants to enhance its association
with the judiciary and contribute significantly to the joined-up working
in the criminal justice system. The Department must:
- reduce the unit cost of a Crown Court case
- reduce delays, and
- increase user satisfaction.
Major IT investment to deliver information and services electronically,
including links with the other criminal justice system agencies and use
of the Internet, must underpin progress, and enable the Department to meet
the targets on electronic interaction with the public.
A further major initiative in the criminal courts is the implementation
of the Speaking up
for Justice report, improving services for victims and witnesses.
A programme of work is planned for the civil courts to take them
beyond the Woolf horizon and contribute further to the Government's economic
and social goals. The Department needs to:
- offer improved levels of customer service at courts and tribunals,
including 'out of hours' access, on-line services, and focusing on the
needs of different customer groups. The Court Service will also play
its part - broadly as a 'sign post' and initial source of information
- in the development of the CLS
- introduce new technology to support effective competition in the international
legal market and enhance the High Court's status as a 'flagship' for
civil justice
- improve value for money in the use of the Department's fixed assets
- around 220 court locations in England and Wales - by exploring the
opportunities for moving to a flexible network of hearing centres and
making full use of electronic access.
A priority both in civil and criminal processes must be enforcement.
The ability to enforce a judgment has wide-ranging social and economic implications
which are crucial to the exercise of rights and responsibilities, as well
as generating additional revenue. Enforcement, where necessary, must be
swift and effective.
The Department also needs to improve enforcement in the criminal justice
system. Responsibility for the execution of warrants for fine and other
defaulters is to transfer from the police to the courts in April 2001. Enforcement
work is not given a high priority by the police and the Department must
ensure that the change gives a real impetus to improvement and is not just
a bureaucratic transfer. A step change is needed. Fines keep people out
of prison, but they are only seen by sentencers and the public as appropriate
disposals if they are effectively enforced.
The administration of magistrates' courts will be rationalised, reducing
Magistrates' Courts' Committee areas from 96 in 1998 to 42 in 200l to align
with the areas of the other CJS agencies. The Department must handle the
process of change well, including redundancies and especially the setting
up of the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority (GLMCA).
Over 95% of criminal business is dealt with in the magistrates' courts,
substantially through the voluntary services of 30,000 lay magistrates.
The Department needs to modernise facilities. The current estate is generally
in poor condition. Cell accommodation must be improved, and the Human Rights
Act may well have implications here. The Department must build on a successful
pilot with the Prison Service of the use of video conferencing links for
remand prisoners in the magistrates' courts.
IT investment is crucial, especially to provide electronic links with
the other organisations in the criminal justice system. The Libra project is intended
to deliver modern, standard, IT services to the courts through a single
supplier contract under the Private Finance Initiative.
Initiatives are being planned to increase public confidence that tribunals
provide a fully independent judicial service; equal treatment; timely and
proportionate decisions; adequate support by advice and representation,
and the right quality of administration and accommodation. Tribunals play
a major part in ensuring that people are able to pursue their rights and
so fulfil their potential. Failure to deliver will lead to increased challenges
under human rights and discrimination legislation, as well as complaints
and criticism within a sensitive area of operation. In particular the Department
must work with the Home Office to ensure that the work on immigration and
asylum is handled seamlessly and efficiently.
The arrangements for inquests in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
are subject to increasing criticism. They need to be re-examined to meet
concerns about the impartiality, effectiveness and responsiveness of the
procedures and their relationship with other modes of inquiry.
Individual rights
The Department wants especially through the CLS, and in other ways, to
create a society well informed about the rights of the individual and able
to protect them. Stronger families and the protection of children's
rights contribute to social cohesion and fairness in society. The provision
of information on family breakdown and mediation services should enable
couples to make informed decisions about separating, both for themselves
and their children. The
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, a new agency,
will combine the family court welfare functions currently provided by the
Probation Service, the Children's Branch of the Official Solicitor's Department
and local authority Guardian ad Litem and Reporting Officer Services. The
pooling of this wide range of experience and expertise will be of great
benefit to the family courts. By placing a stronger emphasis on the professional
development of staff, the integrated service will also be in a better position
to provide improved safeguards for the interests of children. The Department
must set this up, however, in a way which avoids the problems of such new
creations in the past as the Crown Prosecution Service and the Child Support
Agency.
The Department needs to review the management of both public and private
law Children Act proceedings to ensure that unnecessary delay and
cost are avoided.
The Department will also seek to provide a clear and supportive legislative
framework for decision-taking for people unable to take control of their
affairs, which protects their interests and enables them to have the
maximum involvement in decision-taking. In particular, the Department will
seek to implement its policy
proposals on mental incapacity published on 27 October l999 and
will radically reform the structure of the Public Trust Office (PTO) in
the light of the Quinquennial Review
of the PTO and the l999 PAC
report into the operations of the PTO.
The transformation of the Department and its services
In order to meet effectively the challenge of these objectives the Department
itself will have to be transformed. This is not only a matter of proper
implementation of the Modernising Government agenda, which it has in common
with all other Departments, but in being much more proactive than it has
traditionally been, and across a wider canvas. This stretches beyond the
Department's two core historic businesses of running the courts and dealing
with the judiciary and judicial appointments, to cover several new areas,
especially in the markets for legal services.
A key element of the transformation is the development of services capable
of delivery electronically to those who wish to use them, and to encourage
their use. Work is already under way to meet the Government's target for
electronic service delivery in areas such as access to public records, and
electronic conveyancing. But there is much more to be done to overcome past
under-investment if the range of services provided by the Department is
to become truly customer-focused and high quality.
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