The office of Lord Chancellor has undergone many significant changes through its history. In modern times, the Lord Chancellor has become, in effect, the principal minister of justice in England and Wales. The Right Honourable the Lord Irvine of Lairg QC has held the position of Lord Chancellor since May 1997.
The Lord Chancellor has ministerial responsibility for four different Departments, known collectively as the Lord Chancellor's Departments. They are all represented in this report:
The Lord Chancellor's Departments are concerned with justice, rights and the constitution.
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.
All government departments define and measure their work through a series of targets. This report is the annual opportunity for the Lord Chancellor's Departments to report on their progress against these targets.
Strategic Objectives (SO) define a department's long-term aspirations and the general scope of its work. They are designed to be descriptive rather than specifically measurable outcomes.
Public Service Agreements (PSA) contain descriptive and measurable targets that support Strategic Objectives. Each government department publishes a PSA every three years to define its major programmes and objectives for the period of one spending review.
Departments may share some of the targets, such as the joint targets relating to the Criminal Justice System that are shared between the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Home Office and the Law Officers' Departments.
Service Delivery Agreements (SDA) contain targets that support PSA targets. They break down in more detail the specific milestones that a department is seeking to reach, and can be measured against a deadline target. SDA targets cover the ways in which the department delivers its services, such as providing value for money, quality customer service, new technology and modernisation schemes.
A measurable target is founded on a baseline. From this baseline, we can then set a target measurement for a future date. Most targets are set for several years into the future; we therefore also set interim milestones so we can measure our progress towards the final target.
LCD has six Strategic Objectives:
There are nine Public Service Agreements in support of these objectives which are supported in turn by service delivery agreements. Our performance against each PSA is set out in the table below and reference made to those pages in the report which give greater detail.
It is important to note that the work of the Lord Chancellor's Department in pursuit of its Strategic Objectives goes beyond the targets contained within the PSAs. These areas are also described in detail within the main body of the report.
Much of our work is currently pursuing long term goals while the LCD is undergoing profound changes at the present time. Consequently, some targets have varied or are still in progress. Again, this is reflected in the main body of the report.
| Strategic Objective 1: 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. | |
| Supporting | Progress |
| PSA 1: Secure a minimum five percentage point improvement in the level of satisfaction of users of the justice system by 2004, including that of victims and witnesses with their treatment in the criminal justice system. | The Court Service has now conducted all four waves of the user satisfaction survey so that customers from all courts and offices have now been surveyed to establish the baseline level. The overall satisfaction level is 78%. For the magistrates' courts a user reaction survey is completed every six months. The October 2002 survey results showed 90% of users were satisfied with information and 72% were satisfied with the facilities. |
PSA 2: Reduce by 2004 the time from
arrest to sentence or other disposal for all defendants by:
|
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| PSA 3: Increase the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system (CJS) by 2004 including improving that of ethnic minority communities. | Baseline set in the British Crime Survey (BCS) January
2001.
Reliable trend data is not available but a comparison of BCS 2001-02 (and 2000) indicates the following views concerning whether the CJS:
This indicates higher confidence for three of the four indicators. |
| PSA 4: Increase the number of and proportion of recorded crimes for which an offender is brought to justice. | Under the Narrowing the Justice Gap initiative Local Criminal Justice Boards each filed delivery plans in early 2003 which together are planned to meet the target for crimes for which an offender is brought to justice of 1.2 million by 2005-06. |
| Strategic Objective 2: 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. | |
| Supporting | Progress |
| PSA 5: Reduce the proportion of disputes which are resolved by resort to the courts. | The baseline figure, drawn from the National Legal Need Survey conducted in 2001and relating to respondents' experience from January 1998 to September 2001, is that 13.76% of disputes resolved are currently resolved with the use of court processes. The first follow-up survey will report in 2004. In answer to a Parliamentary Question (PQ) in January we reported that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) had been used or attempted in 255 cases so far in the year 2002-03, a significant increase over the 49 cases reported in the year 2001-02. |
| Strategic Objective 3: 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. | |
| PSA 6a: Increase the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion by 5% by 2004. | The baseline figure for this target, drawn from the National
Legal Need Survey, is 31 problems per thousand of the population per
annum, which means that suitable assistance was obtained in 32.4% of
justiciable problems in priority areas of law.
Performance in this area is also being measured through a telephone legal need survey in 11 representative geographical areas. The baseline for the telephone survey covers 2000 to 2002. It shows that 31% of problems in priority areas of law received suitable assistance. |
| PSA 6b: Secure year-on-year increases of at least 5% in the number of international legal disputes resolved in the UK. | Baseline data was established in 2001 and reporting was
anticipated to take place annually. However, this target has been dropped
as a PSA in the SR2002 round and incorporated into the Department's
internal work programme. There were significant difficulties obtaining
reliable data and establishing the direct impact of government measures,
as opposed to market forces, on the number of disputes resolved in the
UK.
The measurement difficulties, however, have not prevented significant progress towards creating the right environment for growth in this area including:
In pursuing these goals, we are proactively engaging with other government Ministers, professional bodies, International Financial Services London which promotes the City, and the Corporation of London, whose Lord Mayor makes a substantial number of trade visits overseas every year to promote legal and financial services. |
| Strategic Objective 4: To make civil and family law clearer and more easily enforceable, giving priority to key government objectives in tackling social and economic issues. | |
| Supporting | Progress |
| PSA 7: Increase the enforceability of civil judgments by achieving a 10% increase in the amount recovered per pound under executed warrants issued in the county courts in 2001-04, with this target to be reviewed and new targets set for 2002-04 by December 2001. | Enforcement performance on pence in the pound recovered under executed county court warrants was 78.1p in 2001-02. This meets the target set for March 2004. Ministers agreed to a target of 76p in the £ for 2002-03 recognising that recent historical performance would be unsustainable without policy change. Year to date performance at the end of December 2002 was 86.1p in the £. |
| Strategic Objective 5: 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. | |
| Supporting | Progress |
| PSA 8: Increase continued contact between children and the non-resident parent after a family breakdown, where this is in the best interests of the child and it is safe to do so. | Baseline analysis of court service data on private law cases has been completed. Questions on levels of contact are included in current ONS Omnibus survey Apr-Dec 2002. More in-depth analysis on quality of contact in early 2003 will take place when baseline data is complete. Report on FAINS interim pilots expected in Feb/Mar 2003. |
| Strategic Objective 6: 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. | |
| Public Service Agreement | Progress |
| No direct supporting PSA but a number of supporting targets. | N/A |
| Other targets: PSA 9 contributes to all our strategic objectives. | |
| Supporting | Progress |
| PSA 9: Secure year-on-year improvements in value for money in the delivery of the Community Legal Service (CLS) and the Criminal Defence Service (CDS). | The Department is on course with the target to ensure
that 95% of expenditure is provided by quality assured suppliers by
March 2004, achieving 100% of expenditure on the CDS and 97% of expenditure
from the CLS Fund (excluding work in Crown or Higher Courts). From April
2004 all expenditure on the CDS and from the CLS Fund will only be provided
by quality assured suppliers.
The target to reduce CLS and CDS cost inflation to 0.5% p.a. by March 2004 is on course. It applies to all new civil cases meeting the high cost case criteria to be managed under individual case contracts from April 2001. All new criminal cases meeting the criteria must be referred to the LSC's Criminal High Cost Case Unit for consideration for management under individual contracts from April 2001. In December 2002 the average cost of:
The Department's aim for 2002 on replacing the main VFM measures is to be satisfied that competent publicly funded legal services are focused on priority areas of law, maximising the number of people helped and the efficiency, effectiveness and economy with which the services are provided. |
| Targets for Customer Service | |
| Standard | Performance |
| 1. To answer your letters quickly and clearly.
Ministerial correspondence:
Public correspondence:
|
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| 2. To see you within 10 minutes of any appointment you have made at our offices. If you have not already made an appointment, we will see you within 10 minutes of your having made a request at reception. | Performance is now measured by the Customer Satisfaction Survey. 83% of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with counter services, and 82% are satisfied with the speed at which they are seen. |
| 3. To answer telephone calls quickly and helpfully. We will answer calls to telephone enquiry points within 30 seconds. | Performance is now measured by the Customer Satisfaction Survey. 80% of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with service over the telephone, with 73% satisfied with the speed of response. |
| 4. To provide clear and straightforward information about our services and those of related providers, along with one or more telephone enquiry numbers and e-mail addresses to help you or to put you in touch with someone who can. | Performance is now measured by the Customer Satisfaction Survey. 73% of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with the knowledge of staff who answer the telephones. |
| 5. To have a complaints procedure for the service we provide, publicise it, including on the internet, and send you the information if you ask. | The Complaints Procedure is published on the Court Service website and in leaflets provided at all court locations. |
| 6. To do everything reasonably possible to make our services available to everyone, including people with special needs. We will consult users and potential users regularly about the service we provide and report on the result. | Courts are encouraged to contact and liaise with the local community. 3,514 such events took place in 2002. Users are consulted in various ways including through the Satisfaction Survey. |
Table 1: Total Public Spending for the Lord Chancellor's Department (£'000)
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | |
| Consumption of resources: | ||||||||
| RfR1: To promote the development of a modern, fair, cost effective and efficient system of justice for all | 2,612,481 | 2,212,451 | 2,695,478 | 2,929,234 | 3,147,771 | 3,029,352 | 3,245,825 | 3,326,010 |
| Judicial Pensions Scheme | 81,012 | 87,009 | 92,262 | 96,221 | 101,800 | 47,367 | 52,904 | 54,673 |
| Total Resource Budget | 2,693,493 | 2,299,460 | 2,787,740 | 3,025,455 | 3,249,571 | 3,076,719 | 3,298,729 | 3,380,683 |
| of which: | 2,612,481 | 2,212,451 | 2,695,478 | 2,929,234 | 3,147,771 | 3,029,352 | 3,245,825 | 3,326,010 |
| Capital expenditure: | ||||||||
| RfR1: To promote the development of a modern, fair, cost effective and efficient system of justice for all | 69,100 | 33,215 | 33,514 | 82,981 | 98,314 | 92,543 | 92,000 | 108,000 |
| Total Capital Budget | 69,100 | 33,215 | 33,514 | 82,981 | 98,314 | 92,543 | 92,000 | 108,000 |
| of which: Capital DEL3 | 69,100 | 33,215 | 33,514 | 82,981 | 98,314 | 92,543 | 92,000 | 108,000 |
| Total Public Spending5 | 2,732,966 | 2,410,796 | 2,777,361 | 3,065,209 | 3,291,666 | 3,106,304 | 3,320,086 | 3,408,120 |
Local Authority spending on functions relevant to the department
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | |
| Current Spending | 330,886 | 334,446 | 344,722 | 377,142 | 355,129 |
| of which:
financed by grants from budgets above |
311,994 | 241,644 | 284,417 | 317,553 | 321,173 |
| Capital Spending | 27,568 | 27,780 | 19,513 | 29,807 | 28,426 |
| of which:
financed by grants from budgets above |
32,395 | 25,820 | 22,437 | 42,102 | 48,827 |
Table 2: Resource Budget for the Lord Chancellor's Department (£'000)
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | |
| Headquarters and associated offices of which | 78,154 | 360,104 | 175,535 | 192,851 | 175,017 | 164,106 | 241,841 | 192,311 |
| Invest to Save budget | 500 | 1,925 | 98 | 1,439 | 690 | |||
| Headquarters and associated offices | 78,154 | 359,604 | 169,300 | 192,753 | 173,578 | 141,532 | 213,439 | 166,635 |
| Departmental unallocated provision | 4,310 | 21,884 | 28,402 | 25,676 | ||||
| Judicial Pension Administration | ||||||||
| Executive agencies of which | 256,767 | 157,720 | 384,146 | 506,135 | 550,623 | 660,546 | 659,539 | 725,879 |
| Court Service | 258,247 | 165,262 | 375,071 | 489,921 | 535,049 | 653,980 | 650,930 | 718,731 |
| Public Guardianship Office | 16,214 | 15,574 | 6,566 | 8,609 | 7,148 | |||
| Public Trust Office | -1,480 | -7,542 | 9,075 | |||||
| Local authorities: | ||||||||
| Magistrates' Courts grants | 311,994 | 241,644 | 284,417 | 317,553 | 277,322 | 269,641 | 325,000 | 333,000 |
| Publicly funded legal services of which | 1,902,617 | 1,394,819 | 1,791,183 | 1,762,136 | 1,976,035 | 1,749,442 | 1,844,135 | 1,899,260 |
| Community Legal Service | 781,000 | 789,518 | 781,600 | 702,187 | 729,650 | 760,650 | ||
| Costs from central funds | 48,413 | 44,504 | 39,592 | 44,755 | 52,555 | 45,000 | 44,555 | 44,555 |
| Criminal Defence Service | 927,863 | 1,141,880 | 1,002,255 | 1,069,930 | 1,094,055 | |||
| Legal Aid: criminal | 1,854,204 | 1,350,315 | 970,591 | |||||
| Non-departmental public bodies of which | 62,949 | 58,164 | 60,197 | 150,559 | 168,774 | 185,617 | 175,310 | 175,560 |
| Children & Family Court Advisory & Support Service (CAFCASS) | 71,611 | 82,499 | 94,833 | 94,872 | 94,908 | |||
| Legal Services Commission: administration | 62,946 | 58,161 | 60,193 | 69,668 | 73,647 | 80,984 | 70,338 | 70,352 |
| Office of the Information Commissioner | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9,280 | 12,628 | 9,800 | 10,100 | 10,300 |
| Judicial Pensions Scheme | 81,012 | 87,009 | 92,262 | 96,221 | 101,800 | 47,367 | 52,904 | 54,673 |
| Total Resource Budget | 2,693,493 | 2,299,460 | 2,787,740 | 3,025,455 | 3,249,571 | 3,076,719 | 3,298,729 | 3,380,683 |
Table 3: Capital Budget for the Lord Chancellor's Department (£'000)
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | |
| Headquarters and associated offices of which | 3,721 | 991 | 7,885 | 2,372 | 15,979 | 16,600 | 1,600 | 2,600 |
| Headquarters and associated offices | 3,721 | 991 | 7,885 | 2,372 | 14,879 | 2,700 | 1,600 | 2,600 |
| HM Land Registry | 1,100 | 13,900 | ||||||
| Executive Agencies of which | 32,421 | 5,619 | 2,408 | 27,722 | 32,918 | 19,500 | 34,600 | 49,600 |
| Court Service | 31,563 | 4,886 | 1,284 | 26,852 | 32,053 | 19,500 | 34,600 | 49,600 |
| Public Guardianship Office | 870 | 865 | ||||||
| Public Trust Office | 858 | 733 | 1,124 | |||||
| Local Authorities: | ||||||||
| Magistrates' Courts grants | 32,395 | 25,820 | 22,437 | 42,102 | 48,827 | 56,427 | 55,800 | 55,800 |
| Non-departmental public bodies of which | 563 | 785 | 784 | 10,785 | 590 | 16 | ||
| Children and Family Court Advisory & Support Service | 9,193 | 200 | ||||||
| Legal Services Commission: administration | 562 | 784 | 784 | 1,591 | 389 | 16 | ||
| Office of the Information Commissioner | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total Capital Budget | 69,100 | 33,215 | 33,514 | 82,981 | 98,314 | 92,543 | 92,000 | 108,000 |
Table 4: Lord Chancellor's Department Capital Employed (£'000)
| 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | |
| Assets on balance sheet at start of year: | |||
| Fixed assets of which | 1,332,342 | 1,355,085 | 1,550,781 |
| Land and buildings | 1,284,650 | 1,306,768 | 1,497,306 |
| Plant and machinery | 43,053 | 44,469 | 50,440 |
| Vehicles | 4,639 | 3,848 | 3,035 |
| Current assets | 227,133 | 162,401 | 180,890 |
| Creditors (<1 year) | -241,688 | -156,993 | -200,958 |
| Creditors (>1 year) | -3,668 | -2,259 | -1,190 |
| Provisions | -296,149 | -387,491 | -437,466 |
| Capital employed within main department | 1,017,970 | 970,743 | 1,092,057 |
| NDPB net assets | 38,679 | 2,102,590 | 3,533,982 |
| Total capital employed in departmental group | 1,056,649 | 3,073,333 | 4,626,039 |
Table 5: Administration Costs for Lord Chancellor's Department (£'000)
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | |
| Gross administration costs: | ||||||||
| Other | 246,734 | 426,338 | 363,413 | 437,244 | 558,276 | |||
| Paybill | 215,981 | 222,964 | 236,133 | 246,152 | 232,540 | |||
| Total gross administration costs | 462,715 | 649,302 | 599,546 | 683,396 | 790,816 | 774,107 | 815,963 | 877,612 |
| Related administration cost receipts | -8,545 | -6,454 | -4,629 | -7,903 | -13,749 | -13,670 | -7,670 | -7,670 |
| Total net administration costs | 454,170 | 642,848 | 594,917 | 675,493 | 777,067 | 760,437 | 808,293 | 869,942 |
| Controls and limits: | ||||||||
| Administration costs limits (nets) for gross controlled areas: | ||||||||
| Total net limits for gross controlled areas | 454,170 | 642,848 | 594,917 | 675,493 | 777,067 | 760,437 | ||
| Note: changes in definitions of administration cost limits, on net basis, since last year's Departmental Report | ||||||||
| Total net administration cost limits on Stage 1 Resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) | 456,004 | 456,320 | 500,658 | 615,174 | 757,956 | 696,884 | ||
| Plus additional non-cash items from move to full RAB as part of 2002 Spending Review | -1,834 | 186,528 | 95,122 | 60,319 | 19,111 | 63,553 | ||
| Less removal of some administration costs associated with frontline service provision | ||||||||
| Less additional allowable receipts | -863 | |||||||
| Gives figures in table above | 454,170 | 642,848 | 594,917 | 675,493 | 777,067 | 760,437 | ||
Table 6: Staff Numbers (Staff Years)
| 1998-99 Actual | 1999-00 Actual | 2000-01 Actual | 2001-02 Actual | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | |
| Lord Chancellor's Department | ||||||||
| CS FTEs6 | 9,886 | 10,150 | 11,555 | 11,672 | 12,105 | 12,105 | 12,105 | 12,105 |
| Overtime | 120 | 120 | 109 | 104 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 86 |
| Casuals | 509 | 580 | 0 | 619 | 469 | 469 | 469 | 469 |
| Total | 10,515 | 10,850 | 11,664 | 12,395 | 12,660 | 12,660 | 12,660 | 12,660 |
| Northern Ireland Court Service7 | ||||||||
| CS FTEs | 628 | 638 | 655 | 691 | 710 | 756 | 756 | 756 |
| Overtime | 10 | 9 | 19 | 115 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Casuals | 24 | 20 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 662 | 667 | 711 | 808 | 718 | 763 | 763 | 763 |
| Public Record Office | ||||||||
| CS FTEs | 424 | 430 | 420 | 455 | 470 | 477 | 477 | 477 |
| Overtime | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Casuals | 22 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Total | 456 | 456 | 439 | 479 | 502 | 515 | 515 | 515 |
| Land Registry | ||||||||
| CS FTEs | 7,839 | 7,772 | 7,767 | 7,690 | 7,950 | 7,881 | 7,901 | 7,902 |
Following the Machinery of Government changes in June 2001, when responsibility for constitutional, freedom of information and human rights issues moved to our Department, we reviewed our aim and strategic objectives.
These new Strategic Objectives are the headlines for the SR2002 Public Service Agreement and will become operational in April 2003 at the beginning of the Spending Review period 2003-06.
We have tried to ensure that the new objectives are outcome- and customer-focused and clearly express the relationship to overarching government priorities, while capturing the main business areas and programmes of our Department.
The aim of LCD is to ensure effective and accessible justice, protect the rights of citizens, and modernise the law and constitution.
The objectives supporting our aim have been revised:
Objective 1: Ensure the effective delivery of justice.
PSA 1: Improve the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice to 1.2 million by 2005-06; with an improvement in all CJS areas, a greater increase in the worst performing areas and a reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials. (Target contributes to CJS PSA.)
PSA 2: Improve the level of public confidence in the Criminal Justice System, including increasing that of ethnic minority communities, and increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants. (Target contributes to CJS PSA.)
Objective 2: Ensure a fair and effective system of civil and administrative law.
PSA 3: Reduce the proportion of disputes which are resolved by resort to the courts.
PSA 4: Increase year on year the level of satisfaction of users by taking speedy, high-quality decisions and reducing unnecessary delay and cost, and by ensuring that outcomes are enforced effectively.
PSA 5: Focus the asylum system on those genuinely fleeing persecution by taking speedy, high-quality decisions and reducing significantly unfounded asylum claims, including by:
(Joint target with the Home Office.)
Objective 3: Reduce social exclusion, protect the vulnerable and children, including maintaining contact between children and the non-resident parent after a family breakdown, where appropriate.
PSA 6: Increase year on year the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion.
Objective 4: Modernise the constitution and ensure proper access to information by citizens.
Objective 5: Increase consumer choice in legal services by improving information and by promoting competition.
Objective 6: Deliver justice in partnership with the independent judiciary.
PSA 7: Ensure value for money.
Increase value for money from the Criminal Justice System by 3% per year, increasing efficiency by at least 2% a year, including the delivery of legal aid. (Target contributes to CJS PSA.)
The period 1972 to 2002 has seen fundamental change in both the scale and role of the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD). During this period, the Department has been transformed from a support function for the Lord Chancellor focused on specific legal and judicial issues, to running the full machinery of justice across England and Wales. In particular, the LCD has embraced control of operational delivery, including full responsibility for the courts and Court Service; a much wider policy remit; and a materially increased role in legislation and legal reform.
Since 1997, the pace of change and the expansion of the remit and role of the LCD have accelerated considerably - amongst other things it has acquired responsibility for elections and referendums, party funding, human rights and House of Lords reform. It is now effectively the Department for Justice, Rights and the Constitution. These additional responsibilities reflect new national and governmental priorities and incentives, and a greater concern to link coherently the functions and arms of justice.
This change has generally been extremely positive. The impact on the quality and delivery of justice across the country has been substantial and the increased control and effectiveness of the criminal and civil justice system undoubted.
Despite a substantial expansion in remit, however, there has been no fundamental change in the way that the Department is staffed or structured. Our increased responsibility has been supported with only a modest increase in personnel (4% since 1997) and budget. More importantly, the structure and governance of the LCD remains essentially similar to its pre-1972 conception.
So that the LCD is able to manage this expansion - and deliver high-quality public services - it must change. The Departmental Change Programme (DCP) arises out of a joint review which was undertaken in 2002 with the Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform. The DCP has the personal endorsement of the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor and his Ministers, and Sir Hayden Phillips, the LCD Permanent Secretary.
The Departmental Change Programme identified certain weaknesses which fall into four main categories:
It will change the way the Department works with its agencies and partners to provide high-quality services to customers. Customer focus and the delivery of services will become central to the work of the LCD. To achieve this, change will focus on:
Strategic Vision - putting the Department's Public Service Agreement at the heart of its plans for the future.
Culture and Behaviour - promoting joint working across the Department and moving away from the old silo mentality. A commitment to diversity, openness, honesty and transparency to improve how staff work with each other.
Financial Discipline - to provide a clear focus on costs, benefits and priorities. Improving strategic planning and working positively with the Treasury as the LCD moves into the next Spending Review.
A New Structure - a new Corporate Board giving strategic vision, setting priorities and matching resources to those priorities. Closer and clearer working between operational and policy units with Departmental functions clearly assigned to the four new Corporate Board members.
Bernadette Kenny, the Departmental Change Director, and her team are taking forward a number of initiatives which will help the LCD become more customer-focused and drive up performance. Specific work includes:
The Lord Chancellor's Department has justice, rights and the constitution as its central responsibilities. LCD promotes the provision of legal services, wider access to justice and the reform of the civil law. Through the Legal Services Commission and the Court Service, it is responsible for funding legal services and managing court processes. It supports the Lord Chancellor in the appointment of judges, magistrates and tribunal members, and it oversees the local administration of the magistrates' courts. With the Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service, LCD is also responsible for the criminal justice system. In June 2001 the Prime Minister transferred from the Home Office to LCD responsibility for some new functions including human rights, freedom of information and constitutional matters. In May 2002 the Prime Minister further transferred from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to LCD general policy responsibility for electoral matters and particular responsibility for Westminster and European parliamentary elections.
LCD has a headquarters, two executive agencies - the Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) - and a number of other Offices.
The Lord Chancellor is accountable to Parliament for the Court Service and Public Guardianship Office. However, their chief executives are responsible for the effective and efficient day-to-day management of the agencies and are directly accountable to the Lord Chancellor.
The Public Guardianship Office looks after the financial interests of people with mental incapacity. It has had a highly challenging year managing disruption resulting from a major change programme and office move, which resulted in a period of poor customer service. However, it is now overcoming these problems and has succeeded in introducing a number of changes to its operations that will deliver real improvements to customer service in the years to come.
The Court Service is an executive agency of LCD. It runs the civil and criminal courts in England and Wales apart from the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords and the magistrates' courts. It also administers those tribunals that fall under the Lord Chancellor's responsibility, including the Immigration Appellate Authority, the Office of the Social Security and Child Support Commissioners and the VAT and Duties Tribunals. It publishes its own annual report.
The Judicial Committee of the House of Lords is run by a separate office. Magistrates' courts are run by 42 local Magistrates' Courts Committees. These are mainly funded by the Lord Chancellor but also partly by local authorities. They are not part of LCD but the Lord Chancellor has certain supervisory and default powers that relate to them.
The Northern Ireland Court Service is responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland. Its role is similar to that of the Court Service in England and Wales, but it is also responsible for providing publicly funded legal assistance.
The Public Record Office is the national archive for the United Kingdom. It advises government departments on the selection of records for preservation and makes records available to the public.
As announced in July 2002, the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission came together to form the National Archives in April 2003.
Her Majesty's Land Registry maintains a register of title to freehold and leasehold land in England and Wales and delivers land registration services to the public.
The law in England and Wales is divided into criminal law and civil law. Criminal law mostly involves the rules laid down by the state for citizens, while civil law governs the relationships and transactions between citizens. Administrative law is a special sort of civil law that mainly concerns the interactions of citizens with the state, especially where the state is making decisions affecting individual citizens. Administrative law cases are mostly heard in tribunals specific to the subject, while civil and criminal cases are heard in the main court system.
Most minor criminal cases, called summary offences, are heard in local magistrates' courts either by a panel of lay magistrates assisted by a legally trained clerk, or by a legally trained district judge sitting alone. Magistrates' courts also house family proceedings courts and the youth courts. The most serious offences, called indictable-only offences, are passed on by the magistrates' courts to the Crown Court to be heard, usually by a judge and jury. Some cases, called either-way cases, fall in between and may be heard in either court. Only Crown Court judges have the power to pass sentences above a certain level of severity, and so some cases may be transferred from magistrates' courts for sentencing once a verdict has been reached. There are 78 Crown Court centres throughout England and Wales.
The majority of civil actions are heard in the 218 county courts, which also handle some family and bankruptcy hearings. The manner in which each case is dealt with depends on the value of the claim, so that the time and cost spent on the case is appropriate to its value.
The High Court sits at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as well as at some major court centres around the country. The work is handled by three divisions, depending on its subject:
The Divisional Court of the High Court sits in the Family and Chancery Divisions, and hears appeals from the magistrates' courts and county courts. The Administrative Court in the Queen's Bench Division deals with a variety of judicial review matters.
The Court of Appeal also sits at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Criminal Division hears appeals from Crown Court cases, while the Civil Division receives appeals from the High Court, tribunals and, in certain cases, county courts.
For most legal cases in England and Wales, the House of Lords is the final point of appeal, although a small number of cases each year may be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction on matters of European Community law. All appeals to the House of Lords are about the meaning of the law, rather than the evidence in a case. The Law Lords also hear appeals from cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland; in addition, they sit as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to hear appeals from those Commonwealth countries whose legal systems are still linked to the UK.
Three other departments report directly to the Lord Chancellor:
Northern Ireland Court Service - Director: David Lavery
Public Record Office - Keeper of Public Records: Sarah
Tyacke
HM Land Registry - Chief Land Registrar and Chief Executive:
Peter Collis
3 Departmental expenditure limits, set as part of the 2002 Spending Review
4 Of which, resource 'near-cash' DEL:
| 1998-99 Outturn | 1999-00 Outturn | 2000-01 Outturn | 2001-02 Outturn | 2002-03 Estimated Outturn | 2003-04 Plans | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans |
| 2,593,780 | 2,012,646 | 2,583,267 | 2,851,655 | 3,040,121 | 3,003,131 | 3,102,238 | 3,161,284 |
5 Total public spending calculated as the total of the resource budget plus capital budget less depreciation
6 Civil Service Full Time Equivalents.
7 The staff of the Northern Ireland Court Service are not part of the Home Civil Service and therefore are not included in the Civil Service staffing count.
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