Chapter 8: Managing the Department
| Management structures in the Department have been revised to reflect
changes in policies and priorities. This helps all officials to deliver
the Departmental objectives efficiently and effectively.
|
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Improving effectiveness
Management structure
- Sir Thomas Legg KCB QC, Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Crown in
Chancery, retired on 10 April 1998 and was succeeded by Sir Hayden Phillips
KCB, previously Permanent Secretary at the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport. Ian Magee, previously Chief Executive of the Information Technology
Services Agency, was appointed Chief Executive of the Court Service Agency
on 15 September 1998 succeeding Michael Huebner.
- The new Permanent Secretary, in conjunction with senior colleagues,
reorganised the Department to best equip it
to meet future challenges, provide clearer lines of accountability and
improve customer service. The main changes which have taken place to date
are:
- the Management Board was replaced from 1 February 1999 by a smaller,
and therefore more flexible, Corporate Board consisting of
a group of senior managers. The Corporate Board will ensure better
integration of policy, operational and management issues
- the role of Judicial Group has been expanded to include issues
other than appointments, such as pay policy. A new division was set
up focussed especially on assessing the impact of change on the judicial
system and leads the co-ordination of work in this area across the
whole Department. Michael Huebner became Director of Judicial Group
on 15 September 1998
- Magistrates' Court Group now reports to and through the Director-General,
Policy to better integrate the Department's work on criminal justice
policy and its delivery in the magistrates' courts
- three Heads of Division groups have been asked to work up ideas
and report by the end of April 1999 on managing for results, cross-boundary
working (internally and externally) and implementing the People Strategy
for the Department's headquarters and associated offices (see Annex
A). This should produce a new way of working on management
and personnel developments that provide a leadership role
to Heads of Divisions within the Department.
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Investing in People
- The Lord Chancellor's Department Headquarters and the Associated Offices
underwent assessment against the Investors in People standard in November
1998 and were accredited as an Investor in People in December 1998. The
Public Trust Office was also accredited as an Investor in People in December
1998. The Court Service aims to achieve recognition as an Investor in
People by the autumn of 1999. Progress on areas for action, which were
identified by a staff opinion survey carried out in April 1998, is being
monitored by the Court Service Management Board.
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Further information
- Annex A - The Department's equal opportunities
initiatives and reports on recruitment. Similar information for the Court
Service and Public Trust Office can be found in their business plans and
annual reports.
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Openness and communication
- The Department continues to focus on:
- delivering high standards of public service
- increasing openness and transparency in decision-making and consulting
the public
- improving communication and harnessing the potential of new technology
where appropriate.
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Service First
- Edmonton County Court, Lambeth County Court and Clerkenwell County Court
were awarded Charter Marks during 1998 and Woolwich County Court was highly
commended.
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Open Government
- Details of the Department's performance on open government will appear
in the Open Government Monitoring Report, which is expected to
be published by the
Freedom of Information Unit at the Home Office in spring 1999.
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Research
- The Department's Research Secretariat has continued vigorously to pursue
its policy of maintaining close links between the Department's policy-makers
and those in the research community whose work can inform the Department's
changing business areas. Twenty publications are now available in the
LCD Research Series, whilst at
any one time there are well over 20 LCD-commissioned research projects
in progress.
- The Department listens carefully to the views of respondents in the
development of policy, and is looking at ways in which it can improve
the availability of information on regulatory proposals to stakeholders
and others.
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Communication
- In April 1998 Allan Percival was appointed as the Department's first
Director of Communications. He is responsible for the presentation to
the media and the public of Departmental policies.
- Many of the Department's services are now provided via the Internet
to ensure the widest coverage. All recent consultation papers and White
Papers, as well as press notices, research papers, annual reports, judicial
appointments information and other publications, have been made available
to the public in this way. In late March 1998 the LCD Press Office went
'live' with its newly designed LCD website - www.lcd.gov.uk.
From April to November 1998, the average number of weekly 'hits' on the
site increased from about 1,100 to over 2,200.
- A free public information booklet, Working for Justice: A Guide to
the Lord Chancellor's Department, which explains the role of the Lord
Chancellor in Government and the justice system, was published in October
1998 and is available via the courts and from LCD offices.
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Further information
- Annex B - The commitments and achievements
undertaken to improve service delivery by the Department and its agencies.
Annex C - The Department's compliance
with the Government's Better Regulation initiative.
Annex D - The Department's progress
on Electronic Government, connection to the Government's secure intranet
and Year 2000 compliance.
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Financial management
Cost recovery
- The 1997/98 Appropriation in Aid target for the civil courts was achieved
with income of £326.4m against a target of £314m. Income in 1998/99 is
forecast to be £317.6m against a target of £317m.
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Resource accounting
- A major service provision contract has been let to provide a full range
of resource accounting services throughout the Department under the Government's
Public and Private Partnership initiative. The Department is on course
to prepare dry-run resource accounts for 1998/99 in accordance with the
published timetable.
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Accountability
- Over 80 internal audit assignments were completed during 1998/99. These
have resulted in a number of improvements to systems and controls throughout
the Department designed to secure regularity, propriety, value for money
and safeguarding of the Department's assets and interests from losses.
- Coverage planned for 1999/00 to 2002/03 is risk-assessed and embraces
targeted internal audits of a variety of activities and systems. This
involves evaluation of business, financial and accounting controls including
those exercised in relation to justices' clerks' accounts, criminal legal
aid regulations, resource accounting and contracted out services. In addition,
internal audit will continue to make an active contribution to the development
and implementation of new systems and initiatives by:
- advising on control and related matters
- maintaining an effective anti-fraud culture, and
- assisting in the promotion of techniques associated with control
risk self-appraisal and risk management.
- The Department is managing a major strategy for combating fraud in the
legal aid system. This includes the following measures (as set out in
the Department's PSA) to address fraud by both applicants for legal aid
and suppliers:
- in April 1998 the role of the Legal Aid Board's Special Investigation
Unit was extended to cover the assessment of financial eligibility
of applicants for criminal legal aid with complex financial affairs.
These arrangements are being tested in a pilot scheme at 26 Magistrates'
and Crown Court centres. Extending this to other courts will be considered
in the light of the results of the pilot and the Government's plans,
set out in the White Paper Modernising Justice, to replace the system
of universal means testing for criminal legal aid
- introduction of a new computer system (CIS) to provide better management
information enabling identification of potentially fraudulent behaviour
by both applicants and suppliers
- in the short to medium term, provision of legal aid exclusively
through contracts between the Board and approved suppliers will enable
the Board to deal effectively with fraud and abuse by suppliers, especially
in the green form scheme where problems have occurred in the past.
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Departmental Investment Strategy
- The Department has two main areas of investment: court accommodation
and information technology (IT). In broad terms, court accommodation contributes
to the Department's objectives by providing the physical environment necessary
for the delivery of civil and criminal justice. The Department is also
making increasing use of IT, to improve the efficiency with which justice
is delivered.
- Public-private partnerships are now being used extensively to achieve
better value and savings. The majority of the Department's new capital
investment is scheduled to be provided by the private sector. New business
services are being obtained within the Department's two IT based agreements,
including the successful introduction of accruals accounting, and work
continues on delivery and support of other pathfinder and significant
projects. The Department's investment strategy will be published later
in the year.
- The Department is also looking to invest more in 'human capital', especially
in the context of legal reform, for example through training for judiciary
and staff.
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Wider Market Activities
- The Department is not currently involved in generating income from selling
services into wider markets but is reviewing opportunities. The Statutory
Publications Office, in particular, is investigating the marketing options
for the Statute Law Database[3],
which will provide a computerised version of the United Kingdom Statute
Book in its up-to-date form, with a view to covering costs.
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Further information
- Annex E - The Department's performance
on payment of bills and details of service reviews.
Annex F - The Department's internal
environmental policies including energy saving.
For further information about the work of the Lord Chancellor's Department
and its agencies, contact:
Lord Chancellor's Department
Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW
Tel: 0171 210 8500
www.lcd.gov.uk
- See Chapter 2 for details of the timetable
for implementation.
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