A. The Lord Chancellor's Department

What we do

The aim of the Lord Chancellor's Department is 'justice'.

To support our aim, we have six Strategic Objectives:

To provide a fair, swift and effective system of justice which promotes confidence in the rule of law; helps reduce crime, the fear of crime, and the economic consequences of crime; and gives value for money.
To improve people's knowledge and understanding of their rights and responsibilities including how to resolve disputes which affect them, in a way and at a cost proportionate to what is at stake.
To improve the availability of good quality legal services so that the law underpins economic success, at home and abroad, and that the use of public funds secures greater social justice and reduces social exclusion.
To make civil and family law clearer and more easily enforceable, giving priority to key Government objectives in tackling social and economic issues.
To improve the lives of children and help build and sustain strong families through providing a legal and procedural framework to sustain family relationships and when they do break down to resolve disputes, with the least distress to those affected, especially the most vulnerable.
To uphold the independence of the judiciary, especially through the appointment of sufficient judges, magistrates and other judicial post holders of the right calibre to match needs, and through promoting a partnership with the judiciary for delivering justice effectively.

This section of the report sets out the work we are doing towards these Strategic Objectives.