This
Departmental Report represents, in style and content, a new era for the
Lord Chancellor's Departments. We have tried to produce a report which introduces
clearly the business of the Departments, our public targets, our present
performance and our future challenges.
It is a good moment for a new kind of report on the work of my four Departments: the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD), Northern Ireland Court Service, Public Record Office and Her Majesty's Land Registry. In 2001, following the general election, some important responsibilities transferred to LCD from the Home Office and Cabinet Office. These included responsibilities for constitutional, freedom of information and human rights issues. The Lord Chancellor's Department is now effectively the Department for Justice, Rights and the Constitution. You will find details of our new responsibilities from Section 6. Our new Departmental Purpose and Strategic Objectives, reflecting our expanded role, are on Section 8.III.
2001 was another very busy year for the Lord Chancellor's Departments, as we took forward our extensive programme for modernising justice and court services. In the civil courts the Woolf reforms to simplify and speed up the processes of civil justice have proved very successful. The Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme is beginning to change the face of justice delivery in England and Wales: it is now possible to issue money claims online and we are piloting the electronic display of evidence.
The Community Legal Service - with its award-winning website 'Just Ask!' - is transforming the local provision of legal help and advice, and is at the forefront of our strategy to help the socially excluded by meeting legal needs in priority areas of law.
Creating CAFCASS was one of the most important developments in family justice. CAFCASS is a new unified service which brings together the functions of Family Court Welfare Service from the Probation Service, local authority Guardians ad Litem and Reporting Officers, and the Children's Divisions of the Official Solicitor's Office. Although it has been a challenging first year for CAFCASS, the principle is right - to protect children properly in our family courts, we need a unified service to champion their interests.
The Public Guardianship Office is a new agency to look after the financial affairs of people with mental incapacity. This agency replaced the Public Trust Office in April 2001 and is working well in this important area of public interest.
A properly supported and regulated legal services market is important not only in terms of access to justice for individuals and businesses, but also because of the sector's overall contribution to the British economy. This is why I am enhancing our role in international legal services and taking forward several initiatives to make the UK more attractive for the conduct of international legal business.
The report I commissioned from Lord Justice Auld on the criminal courts was published in October 2001. We are now working with the government departments which currently administer tribunals to set out a programme for modernisation and reform.
Another major report was Sir Andrew Leggatt's review of tribunals, the first such review for 44 years. We are now working in partnership with the government departments and the local authorities who currently administer tribunals to set out a programme of modernisation and reform to take forward next year.
We have been active in developing new legislation in the past year. The new Land Registration Act will revolutionise the buying and selling of property, while the Commonhold and Leasehold Bill lays out a system of home ownership fit for the 21st century.
As our report illustrates, we put customers at the heart of our thinking and planning. We have many targets which focus on the customers' experience of the courts, the community legal service and other justice services. We work closely in partnership not only with other government departments, but also - in our Community Legal Service Partnerships and family policy work - with local authorities and the voluntary sector.
I am proud of the progress my Departments have made in taking forward one of the most ambitious programmes of reform of legal and court services since the late 19th century, and I am grateful to the staff of the Departments for their hard work and dedication. This report explains not only what we have achieved, but also points the way forward.
The Right Honourable The Lord Irvine of Lairg
May 2002
Our Aim is to build fair, effective and accessible justice services, which the public trust and which contribute towards a safe and secure society and protect the rights of citizens; and to modernise the law and constitution.
In pursuing our aim, we will respect and value each other and everyone we work for.
We will achieve our aims by: