The work of my Departments affects the lives of very many people every day - people using the courts and tribunals, people buying and selling their homes, and people using public records to study the past. This Report sets out the full range of activities and achievements in the past year.
The Criminal Justice System has recently been an important focus of our work, as we continue to look for ways to improve court services and to make the experience for witnesses and victims the least stressful it can be.
In 2002-03 we continued to work closely with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and other criminal justice agencies to maintain demanding targets on the handling of cases involving persistent young offenders.
We also played an important part in the successful initiative to tackle levels of street crime in ten key areas of the country.
In 2003-04 we will continue our programme of IT improvements, so that we can provide accurate, real-time information over the internet on the progress of individual Crown Court trials through the new Xhibit system.
The Courts Bill, which was introduced in November 2002, will deliver improvements, not just in the criminal courts, but across the court system. Apart from facilitating the introduction of a Unified Court Administration, it introduces measures to improve fines enforcement, establish a Criminal Procedure Rules Committee and a Courts Administration Inspectorate, and implement changes to court security, judicial titles, appeals, fees, the award of costs against third parties, and periodical payments of damages.
One of our greatest challenges of the past year has been in immigration and asylum, with the number of appeals from Home Office determinations rising from 4,500 to 6,000 a month. My Departments - in particular the Immigration and Appellate Authorities and the Legal Services Commission - have worked hard with the Home Office to respond to this growth. And the challenge continues: to make the system faster and more certain, while ensuring that applications still receive proper consideration. The joint Public Service Agreement target, shared with the Home Office, will give a renewed focus for the coming three-year period.
In the civil justice system my Department has successfully implemented Moneyclaim online - the first of a new generation of online services for civil court users. This new service issues as many county court claims as our biggest county courts - but at any time of the night or day.
Having reformed the civil justice system, and with criminal justice reform well under way, we are now turning to the third pillar of justice: administrative justice. Tribunals hear many more cases each year than the civil courts. And, in March, we announced plans to create a new unified Tribunals Service that will bring together all the major central government tribunals to provide a better and visibly independent service to users.
One of our key objectives is to improve the availability of good-quality legal services. The provision of publicly funded legal services through the extension of the Legal Services Commission's Quality Mark is a major contribution to achieving this objective. There are also a number of imaginative initiatives improving the availability of legal services, such as our award-winning website, Just Ask!. And, in the coming year, Community Legal Service Partnerships will achieve 100% coverage of the whole country.
I am delighted by the success of the Court Service in improving customer service, demonstrated by the achievement of 113 Charter Marks to add to the 86 already held by courts across England and Wales. LCD Human Resources and Accommodation and Procurement divisions are among the first to be awarded the internal Charter Marks for excellence in the provision of services.
The Northern Ireland Court Service has been instrumental in implementing the Justice (NI) Act 2002, which will give effect to the recommendations of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Review. It has opened impressive new courthouses at Laganside and Dungannon and has installed facilities throughout the court estate so that 25% of bail and remand hearings for young offenders are now conducted by live video link.
The Public Record Office is now assuming a higher profile with its amalgamation with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to become the National Archives in April 2003. It is also taking a leading role in the Government's e-record strategy of having all records maintained electronically by 2004.
Similarly, HM Land Registry has pioneered major projects in the provision of electronic services, including the establishment of e-conveyancing. It has also, through the Land Registration Act 2002, played a major role in the greatest transformation of property law since 1925.
Over the past year my Departments have continued to improve and modernise our services. In doing so, we have played a full and active role in the Government's agenda to improve public services. I am determined that we maintain this progress, and I thank all the staff for their efforts.
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