The Lord Chancellor's Department
The Review of Departmental Reports undertaken in 2001 placed a new requirement on government departments to compile supplementary performance information for publication each autumn. This report updates the commentary of progress made by the Lord Chancellor's Departments against our SR2000 Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets for 2001-04. A further commentary on the SR2000 targets will be provided in the 2002-03 Departmental Report. SR2002 set new targets for the Department for 2003-2006, and a first commentary on progress on these will be provided in the 2003-04 Departmental Report.
As stated in our 2001-02 Departmental Report, the Lord Chancellor's Department is now effectively the Department for Justice, Rights and the Constitution, since responsibilities for constitutional, freedom of information and human rights issues transferred to the Department from the Home Office and Cabinet Office following the general election in 2001.
Further transfers were announced in May 2002, which saw the Department take on from the former Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions policy on electoral law, referendums and party funding, and such departmental responsibility as exists for the Electoral Commission.
The Department's new Aim and Strategic Objectives , reflecting this enlarged role, will apply from 1 April 2003.
Our 2001-02 Departmental Report published in June 2002 explained the role of the Lord Chancellor, the relationship between his departments, agencies, associated offices and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and the work we do. Briefly, 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 Department (LCD); the Northern Ireland Court Service; the Public Record Office and Her Majesty's Land Registry. LCD has a headquarters, two executive agencies - the Court Service and the Public Guardianship Office - and a number of associated offices and NDPBs.
Improving Delivery of Justice in the Criminal Courts
The Government published the White Paper Justice for All in July 2002 responding in full to the Auld Report and the Halliday Review into sentencing policy, and setting out a wider package of reforms to the criminal justice system (CJS). This ambitious programme for reform will be introduced over the coming years. At the heart of the strategy is the modernisation of the courts, law reform and clearer, more flexible sentencing to enable punishments to fit the crime, better protect the public and reduce re-offending. As announced in the Queen's Speech, the Government is legislating to give effect to the White Paper proposals in the current Parliamentary session.
The Street Crime Initiative, which was launched in April 2002, is being given priority throughout the criminal justice system from arrest to conviction. The courts have a vital part to play in ensuring cases are dealt with swiftly while allowing time for the thorough and effective preparation of cases. In all, 70 designated courts were identified in the 10 street crime areas to deal with all street crime work. Accommodation changes were made where necessary to improve facilities for witnesses so that they felt secure and free from intimidation when attending court. The Initiative has been a success. Street crime is down by 14 per cent, more robust decisions are now being made on bail (adults remanded in custody increased by 10 per cent and unconditional bail for youths reduced by 34 per cent) and sentences reflect the gravity of the crimes.
The justice gap is the difference between the number of crimes which are recorded and the number which result in their perpetrator being brought to justice. In 2000-01, 5.17 million crimes were recorded but only 19.8 per cent of them resulted in an offender being brought to justice. The Government has set a PSA target for the criminal justice system to bring 1.2 million offences to justice in 2005-06 (as compared with 1.022 million offences brought to justice in the year ending December 2001). This will mean an average 6 per cent performance improvement each year for the next three years across the system as a whole. To achieve this target we will need to communicate the importance of the initiative to all frontline staff working within the CJS, and help practitioners to understand what is required of them. To assist with this, the Justice Gap Task Force (JGTF), led by the Home Office and of which the Department is a member, has developed a programme of work to:
Tribunals Reform
We are continuing to work in partnership with the government departments and the local authorities who currently administer tribunals to take forward a programme of modernisation and reform following the report of Sir Andrew Leggatt.
Just and Timely Resolution of Civil Disputes
Since June, we have continued to take forward our extensive programme for modernising justice and court services. The report Further Findings: a Continuing Evaluation of the Civil Justice Reforms published in August 2002 showed that, in our civil courts, the Woolf reforms continue to simplify and speed up the processes of civil justice. In addition, our comprehensive Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme is beginning to change the face of justice delivery in England and Wales.
Improving Access to Effective Legal and Advice Services
The Community Legal Service - with its award-winning website Just Ask! - continues to transform 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.
Improving Customer Choice in Legal Services
The Government aims to promote competition in legal services through the liberalisation of the domestic and international markets. Domestically we are working on the removal of restrictions that are not in the public interest and on 30 July 2002 published a consultation paper on matters that fall to the Government following the Office of Fair Trading's report on competition in the professions. We also announced a review of the regulatory framework for legal services. We have initiated a programme of work aimed at reducing international regulatory barriers to legal services working through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) 2000 to tackle the global market and with European Union partners to address specific issues in the internal market. We continue to work with the market on the provision of more effective and accessible legal services and to achieve a bigger role for market-led funding of civil litigation.
Family and Children
The Adoption and Children Bill was given Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. The Act includes measures to enable the UK to ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption; enables unmarried fathers to acquire parental responsibility automatically when jointly registering the birth of their child with the mother; enables step-parents to acquire parental responsibility by agreement with the birth parents or by court order; enables Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) officers to bring to court human rights breaches of children in care; amends the definition of "harm" to encompass the effect of witnessing the ill-treatment of another person; and sets out rule-making powers for the separate representation of children in Children Act proceedings.
Asylum Appeals
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, which heralds wide-ranging and ambitious reform of UK immigration policy, received Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. The Act is central to the Government's overhaul of the UK's asylum, immigration and nationality system, ensuring secure borders and an efficient asylum system, balanced by expanded economic migration routes.
Provisions in the Act will: end the right of in-country appeals for those with 'clearly unfounded' asylum or human rights claims, including nationals of a designated safe country; introduce a power for the Lord Chancellor to provide for a closure date to prevent multiple adjournments of appeals; and introduce a statutory review process which replaces judicial review for those cases which are refused leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
The new process provides for a faster review of those decisions, giving asylum seekers a faster, final outcome, maintaining the fairness of the legal process while preventing it from being used simply to cause delay; and stopping last-minute appeals against administrative decisions such as removal directions.
At the end of August 2002 the Chief Adjudicator issued a new Practice Direction on expedited appeals. Under the new process, appeals are expedited where claims have been processed at Oakington. The Practice Direction commenced in August, and over 100 appeals had been decided by the end of October. A high number of applicants had been removed including many who left without appealing.
Modernising the Department
We are leading the way in Whitehall as one of the first government departments to instigate a major Departmental Change Programme after working closely with the Office of Public Services Reform (OPSR). The OPSR's Departmental Change Programme framework was launched in February 2002 and is designed to help departments achieve reform and deliver high performance. Radical plans have been announced aimed at reorganising the Department over the next two years to put the customer at the heart of everything we do in delivering our objectives. A new team has been set up to develop the new structures and ways of working needed to implement the plans. The first step will be to set up a new, streamlined Corporate Board based on four key executive roles.
Improving Customer Service
A total of 28 more courts have been recognised for their commitment to improving customer service and have been awarded Charter Marks. In addition, the first three waves of the Court Service satisfaction survey show that, overall, 79 per cent of people who use the courts are satisfied or very satisfied with the service we provide and, in the county courts, 92 per cent of claimants said they would use the courts again.
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 over-arching government priorities, while capturing the main business areas and programmes of our Department.
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.
We are responsible for:
the means of delivering justice and resolving disputes;
the law governing rights, responsibilities, and transactions;
legal services including information, advice and representation;
development of the constitution.
We have six supporting strategic objectives:
To help build a safe and just society by improving the delivery of justice in the criminal courts, with particular regard to the interests of victims, witnesses and defendants.
To protect and promote the rights and responsibilities of all by ensuring a fair and effective civil and administrative justice system, and the resolution of disputes in a way proportionate to the issues at stake.
To reduce social exclusion, protect children and the vulnerable and sustain family and community relationships by
improving access to justice;
modernising the legal framework governing rights, responsibilities and transactions; and
promoting citizenship and common values based on the Human Rights Act.
To promote fair and open government by modernising the constitution, and ensuring proper access to information by citizens; and to support good governance and the rule of law at home and abroad.
To underpin economic success by promoting legal and dispute resolution services domestically and internationally.
To work in partnership with the independent judiciary to deliver justice.
The strategic objectives are supported by the following PSA targets:
PSA1:
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 worse performing areas and a reduction in the proportion of ineffective trials. (Target contributing to CJS PSA)
PSA2:
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 contributing to CJS PSA)
PSA3:
Reduce the proportion of disputes which are resolved by resort to the courts.
PSA4:
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.
PSA5:
Focus the asylum system on those genuinely fleeing persecution by taking speedy, high quality decisions and reducing significantly unfounded asylum claims, including by:
PSA6
:
Increase year on year the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion.
PSA 7
Increase value for money from the Criminal Justice System by 3 per cent per year, increasing efficiency by at least 2 per cent a year, including the delivery of legal aid. (Target contributing to CJS PSA)
Before the new Aim and Objectives become operational in April, we are continuing to work towards meeting our SR2000 targets. These support the overarching aim of the Lord Chancellor's Department, which is "justice". To support our aim, we have six Strategic Objectives.
The next section of the report sets out the progress we have made against these Strategic Objectives and the underlying PSA targets since our Departmental Report published in June last year.
The Department's record against the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) targets, to be achieved by March 2002, is as set out in Appendix I of our June 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.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA1: Secure a minimum 5 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. (Contributes to CJS PSA) |
The Court Service has conducted the first two waves of the user satisfaction survey to establish baseline levels. This produced a satisfaction level of 79% for Crown and county courts. Levels of satisfaction in the magistrates' courts are 72%. | The Court Service has now conducted three waves of the user satisfaction survey that established baseline levels. The satisfaction level remains at 79% for Crown and county courts. Current levels of satisfaction in the magistrates' courts remain at 72%. We undertake twice-yearly surveys of customer satisfaction in the Court Service, which include witnesses, victims and jurors. The target of 5% on baseline was set before the result of the first survey was received and it is now clear that achieving a 5% increase in satisfaction starting from a high satisfaction level (79%) is challenging. The satisfaction levels have remained constant over an 18 month period. To improve satisfaction levels, we are undertaking a number of customer service initiatives including: a major modernisation programme to provide court users with better access & services; all courts and offices using Chartermark as a customer service improvement tool and applying for accreditation; introduction of a complaints analysis package to ensure lessons learnt from complaints are shared across the organisation; and all courts being encouraged to undertake work with local ethnic minority communities to build awareness in the justice system. |
| PSA2: Reduce by 2004 the time from arrest to sentence or other disposal for all defendants by: |
reducing the time from charge to disposal for all defendants, with a target to be specified by March 2001;
dealing with 80 per cent of youth court cases within their time targets; and
halving from 142 to 71 days by March 2002 the time taken from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders, and maintaining that level thereafter.
| The Manifesto Pledge target in relation to persistent young offenders (bullet point three in target) was first met in August 2001 - ahead of schedule. Methodology to calculate targets under bullet points one & two has been developed. |
Bullet Points One And Two: Subject to ministerial approval each local Criminal Justice Board will be required to propose timeliness targets for their area. These will be subject to ministerial scrutiny, and approval and will be on the basis that:
The average time taken for adult defendants in the magistrates' courts in indictable cases from charge/laying of information to completion fell from 77 days in 1999 to 64 in June 2002. For Youth Court cases, the fall was from 75 days to 57. Bullet Point Three: Met The average time between arrest and sentence for persistent young offenders (PYOs) sentenced during October 2002 was 67 days, two days less than the revised figure for September, and again under the 71 day target. In the third quarter (July-September) of 2002, the average was 68 days, the fifth consecutive quarter in which the pledge target was met or exceeded. A tripartite ministerial letter to the CJS agencies confirming that PYO Pledge will be maintained was sent on 25 October, reiterating the importance of maintaining success. |
|
| PSA3: Increase the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system by 2004, including improving that of ethnic minority communities. (Contributes to CJS PSA) |
Baseline data will be drawn from the British Crime Survey (BCS). A specific target is to be set by September 2002. Meanwhile, we are working on developing initiatives and communication strategies to work towards the target when set. | The baseline has now been set using responses to six questions in the BCS indicating the state of confidence in the CJS (published 31/1/01). It is not possible to provide reliable trend data from the British Crime Survey due to changes in its design. However, with this caveat, levels of confidence for three indicators appear to have risen between the 2000 and 2001-02 surveys (meets the needs of victims - 26% to 34%; deals with cases promptly - 34% to 39%; respects rights of accused - 69% to 76%) but fallen in relation to confidence in bringing people to justice (46% to 44%). |
| PSA4: Increase the number and proportion of recorded crimes for which an offender is brought to justice. (Contributes to CJS PSA) |
Home Office data will be reported annually against the target. The timeliness information for PSA1 contributes towards this target. | In the baseline year (1999-00) 1,104,000 offences were brought to justice. By the end of March 2002 (ie. in 2001-02), 1,024,654 offences were brought to justice (79,346 fewer). |
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA5: Reduce the proportion of disputes which are resolved by resort to the courts. | The baseline for this target is to be verified in June 2002. The Community Legal Service (CLS) has been working to prevent problems from developing into disputes requiring court intervention. | The baseline figure, drawn from the National Legal Need Survey conducted in 2001 and relating to respondents' experience from January 1998 to September 2001, is that 13.7% of disputes resolved are currently resolved with the use of court processes. |
PSA5 is supported by SDA targets including:
We will extend the coverage of integrated, local CLS Partnerships to 90 per cent of the population in England and Wales by March 2002 and 100 per cent coverage by March 2004 (SDA11).
We achieved 99 per cent coverage by September 2002 (stage 4).
It is our intention that by March 2004, the Community Legal Service Directory of general and specialist help services will be confined to Quality Mark holders (SDA12).
From April 2002, the Directory only included those service providers who have applied for the Quality Mark.
We will increase the number of disputes resolved with funding from the Community Legal Service through Alternative Dispute Resolution, including mediation (SDA13).
The number of disputes resolved between April - August 2002 was 6,333, which shows that we are on course to increase the total for 2001-02 of 12, 442.
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.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA6a: Increase the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law, involving fundamental rights or social exclusion, by 5% by 2004. | A report against verified baseline data is expected by the middle of 2002, which will then be followed by annual reports. Proxy indicators are also being developed. | 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. |
| PSA6b: Secure year-on-year increases of at least 5% in the number of international legal disputes resolved in the UK. | Summary baseline data from UK courts shows that in 2000-01, 1,372 international disputes were handled in the UK, of which approximate figures show that 219 were settled using Alternative Dispute Resolution. We facilitated the establishment of the cross-sector International Legal Services Forum, which will consider appropriate targets and measures in this area. | The baseline data was established in September 2001, reporting annually. Although the cross-sector International Legal Services Forum has failed to perform, we have not allowed its demise to affect progress. We have secured a Trade Partners UK Industry briefing course for commercial officers; we are developing individual marketing strategies in each of our major target markets; we make full use of available external resource eg. Lord Mayor and ministerial visits; and are seeking the revival of British Council law weeks. |
PSA6a is supported by SDA targets including:
We will put in place mechanisms to enable us to demonstrate future reductions in unmet need for legal services in priority categories of law across CLS Partnership areas, both in the population as a whole and amongst those eligible for legal aid (SDA14).
The results of the first annual legal need telephone survey in 11 representative partnership areas will be available in the New Year. The telephone survey method has been piloted and the results validated against those of the National Legal Need Survey.
We will also increase the percentage of funding from the Community Legal Service Fund and funding members of CLS partnerships going to CLS providers of legal services holding the Quality Mark (SDA15).
Data for 2001-02 will be available by February 2003, once Quality Mark agencies have prepared annual reports.
PSA6b is supported by SDA targets including:
We will identify and correct market imperfections preventing UK firms from exploiting opportunities overseas or the development of the UK as a centre for global dispute resolution and legal services. In particular, we will reduce regulatory barriers to international trade in legal services by working though GATS 2000 (SDA16).
We secured ambitious requests for legal services in GATS, persuaded the Law Society of the need for effective consultation machinery and secured support from within the OECD to apply pressure on Korea as part of a review of Korean liberalisation. In addition, an LCD legal trade services strategy was sent to Trade Partners UK overseas posts for consultation, and we secured agreement and funding for a major trade and legal services conference to take place in spring 2003.
We negotiate directly with World Trade Organisation member countries, both through the European Commission and on a bilateral level to secure market access and national treatment concessions in the provision of all legal services. We have also successfully co-ordinated ministerial trade missions to Japan, Indonesia and China.
Strategic Objective 3 is also supported directly by the following SDA targets, both of which relate to the Public Guardianship Office:
By 2004 to complete the review of 100 per cent of accounts received or to have requested further information within four weeks of receipt, with interim targets of 95 per cent within six weeks in 2001-02 and 100 per cent within five weeks in 2002-03. (To apply to both Receivership and Protection Divisions) (SDA29).
At 31 March 2002, we had completed reviews of 97.2 per cent of accounts within six weeks. At 30 September 2002, we had completed reviews of 100 per cent of accounts within five weeks.
By 2003 to collect 60 per cent of accounts within two months of the accounting end date; 80 per cent within four months of the accounting end date; and 100 per cent within six months of the accounting end date or refer to the Court of Protection, with interim targets of 50 per cent, 70 per cent and 100 per cent by 2002. (Applies to Protection Division only) (SDA30).
We collected 65.1 per cent of accounts within two months of the accounting end date, 88.5 per cent within four months of the accounting end date and 100 per cent within six months of the accounting end date.
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.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA7: 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. | On enforcements, performance on pence in the pound recovered under executed county court warrants was 78.1p in 2001-02. This meets the target of 78p set for March 2004. An advisory group has been set up to deliver on enforcement, following a Green Paper on the subject. | Performance currently stands at 86p, significantly exceeding the target set. The White Paper is expected in early 2003. |
PSA7 is supported by SDA targets including:
When people have a civil judgment made in their favour, we want to ensure that it can be properly enforced. Therefore, we are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of enforcement which will conclude in 2002 (SDA17).
Supporting indicators to the enforcement Key Performance Indicator have been set for Charging Orders, Third Party Debt Orders and Attachment of Earnings Orders which will be implemented in early 2003. New rules for Orders to Obtain Information and Third Party Debt Orders have been incorporated into the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) whilst those in schedule form will be redrafted into the CPR by the end of 2003. The Enforcement Review White Paper due early 2003 will include proposals on Data Disclosure Orders (a new enforcement procedure), improvements to existing procedures such as Attachment of Earnings and the creation of a single piece of bailiff law.
Strategic Objective 4 is also supported directly by the following SDA target:
We will complete the evaluations and follow-up actions of the initial 1999 Civil Justice Reforms (CJR) by April 2002; and of subsequent CJR reforms by April 2003 (SDA 31).
Evaluation of the reforms is ongoing. Two projects have been commissioned and research into case management planned.
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.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA8: Increase continued contact between children and the non-resident parent after a family breakdown, where this is in the best interests of the child. | We are working to establish a baseline for this target. We put questions in the ONS Omnibus survey in autumn 2001, and a working group has been established to assist in the delivery of the target. | Questions on levels of contact are included in the current ONS Omnibus survey (April-December 2002). A follow-up survey on quality of contact is to be conducted in early 2003 when baseline data should be complete. Working groups are taking forward improved information/communication; implementation of the Children Act Sub-Committee of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Board on Family Law (CASC) recommendations; changes to rules on domestic violence cases; and national standards and referrals to contact centres. |
PSA8 is supported by SDA targets including:
We will work with the voluntary sector to increase the availability of more effective and accessible marriage and relationship support, especially where children are involved. Where adult relationships do break down, we want to ensure that couples have the information and help they need, that children are enabled to remain in contact with both parents (where that is in their best interests) and that the arrangements are handled as well as possible (SDA19).
The Lord Chancellor's Advisory Group on Marriage and Relationship Support published its strategy in April 2002. We have adopted the key recommendations to broaden the focus of the revised grants programme to include research and development, proactive and preventative work and widening access to funding, including for organisations supporting commonly excluded groups. The 2003-04 programme will run between August-October 2002 (bids) and November-January 2003 (evaluation and allocations).
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.
The targets underpinning Strategic Objective 6 are not linked to a PSA target.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| SDA 34: Implementing improvements to the judicial appointments process as recommended by Sir Leonard Peach. | i) Commission now established, first Commissioner & seven deputies in post. ii) Assessment centre pilot extended to cover three competitions. Posts advertised & job analysis completed. iii) Preliminary proposals for a scheme for deputy High Court judges agreed by Lord Chancellor and under consideration by senior judiciary. iv) Proposals for extending appraisal of part-time judiciary still being explored. | i) Commission now established, first Commissioner & seven deputies in post. ii) Assessment centre pilot in October-November 2002. Pilot to be evaluated in early 2003. iii) Following consideration by senior judiciary, amended proposals are being considered by the Lord Chancellor. iv) The Deputy District Judge appraisal scheme is operational across the country; schemes are also in place for DDJ (Magistrates) & part-timers in the Appeals Tribunal. A scheme has just been introduced for part-time Immigration Adjudicators. Appraisal for other part-timers under consideration. |
| SDA 35: Encouraging applications from under-represented groups. | Data has been compiled for Judicial Appointments Annual Report. Events have been held in 21 locations. Over 800 copies of video All Rise distributed. Feedback received & analysed from Work Shadowing Scheme & proposals being explored to extend scheme to other jurisdictions. | 33 events have now been held. |
| SDA 36: Projecting numbers of potential appointments from women and people from an ethnic minority background, and reviewing progress. | Progress against current projections to be reviewed and reported in the Judicial Appointments Annual Report in October 2002. | Last year's projections reviewed. Report on progress in the Judicial Appointments Annual Report published in October 2002. |
| SDA 37: We will also measure the complaints about the appointment process upheld by the new Commissioner to be appointed in 2000, and develop related targets. | Targets will be developed to measure the complaints upheld by the Commissioner, once a picture emerges of the nature of complaints and following publication of the Commissioner's Annual Report in October 2002. | No additional information. |
| SDA 38: We will appoint, or recommend for appointment, sufficient numbers of judges and tribunal members to deliver Court Service plans, and meet requests from other departments, and ensure that 95% of the target number of lay magistrates are in post by 2003. | First reporting information will be available in October 2002. | Information on vacancies filled is contained in the Judicial Appointments Annual Report for 2001-02 published in October 2002. The report covers 64 competitions in 2001-02 for different judicial posts. The report shows that there were significant shortfalls against vacancies in the numbers of part-time medical members appointed to the Mental Health Review Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal. |
Other targets
PSA9 contributes to all of our Strategic Objectives.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| PSA9: Secure year-on-year improvements in value for money in the delivery of the Community Legal Service (CLS) and Criminal Defence Service (CDS). | This PSA is not measurable in its own right and performance against it can only be deduced from the performance of its supporting SDAs. However, the Legal Services Commission is currently engaged in developing the data to construct a baseline for this target. |
PSA9 is supported by SDA targets including:
Ensure that 95 per cent of expenditure on the CDS and from the CLS Fund is on services provided by quality-assured suppliers by March 2004 (SDA 23).
In 2001-02, 99 per cent of expenditure on the CDS & 84 per cent of expenditure from the CLS Fund was on services provided by quality-assured suppliers (excluding work in Crown or higher courts). Between April - September 2002, 100 per cent of expenditure on the CDS & 96 per cent of expenditure from the CLS Fund was on services provided by quality-assured suppliers (excluding work in Crown or higher courts).
By March 2004 we will reduce CLS & CDS cost inflation to 0.5 per cent. This target will apply to:
the average cost of very high cost cases (civil & criminal);
the average cost of all CDS representation (excluding very high cost cases); and
the average cost per case of legal help in immigration and all other work (SDA 25).
i) The average cost of very high cost criminal cases is £250,000. The average cost of a very high cost civil case is £46,200.
ii) Latest available figure for the average cost of all CDS representation (excluding very high cost cases) was £709 as at March 2002. The average cost of CDS representation prior to March 2002 increased due to increased unit costs in higher cost cases (at the lower end of the market unit cost is falling) and the effect of implementation of a new procedure from January 2001 whereby indictable-only cases are sent direct to the Crown Court for trial - if discontinued in the Crown Court, this incurs greater cost.
iii) The average cost per case of legal help in immigration is £791 (up from £683 in March 2002) and £203 (up from £193 in March 2002) in all other work. Legal Aid for representation before tribunals was introduced in January 2000 and has increased average costs. It is expected the figure will stabilise once the impact of this measure has worked through the system.
SDA Targets supporting the work of the Department
The following SDA targets support all the work of the Department, especially in relation to customer service and value-for-money.
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| SDA 43: For magistrates' courts we will publish comparative performance tables on key targets on a cumulative quarterly & annual summary basis, require Magistrates' Courts Committees to report publicly on performance in their annual reports, and begin to incentivise performance in the revised magistrates' courts grant allocation. The Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate (MCSI) and the Youth Justice Board promote performance improvement at local level. | The target has been achieved. | The target has been achieved. Comparative performance tables have been produced since April 2000 and common data has been collected since 1 April 1999. Quantification of performance improvement is dependent on quantification of PSA/SDA targets to which the comparative performance reports relate. |
| SDA 46: We will improve value for money in the Court Service & elsewhere by reducing courtroom over-capacity by 10% by March 2002. | Performance was within target to 30/9/01. Data for the financial year ended 31/3/02 shows a reduction in over-capacity to 36.7%, a fall of 14.7%. | MET. |
| SDA 47: Achieving an average annual increase of 3% in Crown courtroom utilisation over the SR2000 period. | Milestone of achieving 67.8% courtroom utilisation by 31/3/02 was met. | Baseline figure is 68%. Courtroom utilisation as at 30/09/02 was 75.2%. |
| SDA 48: Optimising the use of court estate by: reducing the number of separate locations in all provincial conurbations and reducing by 5% the level of over-provision/excess space in existing court centres by using the Internal Benchmarking system. | In order to meet Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) expansion requirements, we have already used excess space at Shoreditch County Court, Surbiton Sessions House, Swan Street London & Walsall County Court. In addition we have used the former Loughborough County Court building to provide accommodation for the main IAA support function, rather than dispose of the building. | Following a programme of meetings with justice chief executives, courts administrators and group managers, we are on course to achieving a sensible blue print for the Court (Joint) Estate. The meetings have identified circa 70 opportunities to pursue joint rationalisation measures. In the majority of instances where the proposal is to move county courts into magistrates' court buildings this will mean moving from Victorian to modern buildings and should result in the provision of better quality facilities. This will make a significant contribution towards the SDA target. Goole County Court moved into Goole Magistrates' Court in August and Altrincham County Court will move into Trafford Magistrates' Court in November. A programme of work is now being drawn up to realise more of these opportunities over the SR2002 period. |
| SDA 50: Reducing in real terms the unit cost of an asylum appeal by an average of 3%. | Target for 2002-03 financial year £994 (a 3% reduction from an outturn of £1,025 for 2001-02). | Current unit cost calculation for 2002-03 is £736.80 against a target of £994. Estimate for 2002-03 does not take account of the majority of expansion costs still to come through. |
| SDA 51: Reducing by 3% per annum in real terms the unit cost of an operational courtroom hour in the Crown Court. | Baseline unit cost was £725 per hour. We were aiming for a target of £703 per hour for 2001-02 - actual performance will be available as part of the Court Service end of year accounts. | Target exceeded - actual unit cost was £697 per hour in real terms. |
| SDA 52: Transfer of warrant execution: in order to improve compliance with monetary orders and the speed and effectiveness of the arrangements for bringing offenders who fail to comply with community sentences back before the courts, the lead responsibility for the execution of warrants will transfer to the magistrates' courts in April 2001. Demanding targets will be set in time for the transfer. | MET | MET |
| SDA 63: Ensuring that by March 2004 90% of people in police stations requesting the service of a duty solicitor receive the service within 45 minutes. | Results of the first sample data collection which took place in February 2002 were 89%. | 89% |
| SDA 64: Increasing access to advice by securing a year on year increase in the number of CLS Information Points. | There are now over 2,000 Information Points. Every library in the East of England is an assisted Information Point. All county courts are self-help Information Points. We are continuing to explore ways of setting up Information Points at Post Offices, police stations & Job Centre Plus Offices. All prisons have been sent a Quality Mark application pack and some have chosen to apply. | There are now 2,300 Information Points and 25 prisons are now Quality Marked. |
| SDA 65: Through the Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme and in partnership with other agencies, to pilot online access to court services (eg. issue of claims in civil proceedings (Money Claims Online), information provision in all jurisdictions) and develop customer service centres. | Services include Money Claim Online (eg. online issue of fixed sum claims up to £100,000, file requests for judgment & warrants of execution), 'Just Ask!' (the CLS website) and the Public Guardianship Office's website & quarterly newsletter Reaching Out providing information & advice for receivers. Pilots of county court duty schemes providing advice & representation for possession cases, and extended court sitting hours in the magistrates' courts are in operation. A Quality Mark for legal advice websites has been developed by the Legal Services Commission. | Since the launch of the Money Claim Online (MCOL) service in February 2002, over 13,000 money claims have been issued online. Phase 2 of the service extends online services to defendants. This extends online contact with the court to approximately 1 million claims made per year. |
| SDA 66: To have doubled by March 2004 the number of Crown and county courts which have achieved Charter Mark accreditation; and by March 2002 to have 100% of magistrates' courts with a charter in place that meets specified standards. | 47 Crown and county courts had Charter Mark status as at 31/3/02. All MCCs had a suitable Charter in place by 31/3/02. |
The target is for 58 courts to achieve Charter Mark within the period. To date, 75 have achieved this. MET. |
As part of the 2000 Spending Review, high-level objectives were set focusing more closely on the needs of consumers of the Department's services, including:
We undertake:
to reply to 85 per cent of Ministerial Correspondence within 20 working days by 2001-02 and 85 per cent within 17 working days by 2003-04 (SDA67).
to reply to 80 per cent of public correspondence within 15 working days by 2001-02 and 85 per cent by 2003-04 (SDA68).
Performance against these targets is set out below, together with our performance against other central government service standards:
Targets for Customer Service
| Standard | Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002(%) | Latest (%) | |
| 1. To answer your letters quickly and clearly. Ministerial correspondence: • LCD HQ: target 20 working days • Court Service HQ: target 15 working days • Public Guardianship Office: target 15 working days Public correspondence: • LCD HQ: target 15 working days • Court Service HQ: target 15 working days • Court Service: target 10 working days ( 2 ) • Public Guardianship Office: target 15 working days Notes: (1) Performance has fallen over recent months. A package of measures has been put in place to improve performance. (2) County Courts only. |
77 75 52 85 92 98 92 |
47.85 ( 1 ) 80 79 89 94 89.5 79 |
| Standard | Latest Performance |
|---|---|
| 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. Customers are 85% satisfied with counter services. |
| 3. 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. Customers are 79% satisfied with service over the telephone. |
| 4. 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. | |
| 5. Have a complaints procedure for the service we provide, publicise it, including on the internet, and send you the information if you ask. | Achieved. Complaints procedures are available on request and on departmental websites. |
| 6. 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. | Achieved. The June Departmental Report (page 68) sets out how we are making our services simpler. We have also begun to monitor contacts with local communities to improve knowledge of services we provide. |
SDA Targets supporting the work of the Department (continued)
| Target Description | Progress as at 31/3/02 | Latest Progress |
|---|---|---|
| SDA 81: LCD is developing and will implement an e-business strategy to enable it to meet the Government's targets for electronic service delivery (100% of appropriate services to be available electronically by 2005) and the creation of the most favourable environment for e-commerce. | Significant implementation progress has been made across key areas for example: - The Libra IT infrastructure has been rolled out to more than 80% of Magistrates' Courts Committees. - The Virtual Plea & Directions Hearing pilot has gone live in Manchester, Minshull Street. - Money Claims Online take up has continued to grow throughout the year. - Evaluation of the first XHIBIT pilot, based in Chelmsford, Basildon & Southend, is well advanced. - More than 100 magistrates' courts are now linked to prisons by video link. |
An e-Business Strategy has been developed - implementation is ongoing. |
| SDA 82: To make orders under section 8 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 to amend primary legislation to remove the present legislative barriers to electronic conveyancing by December 2001. Thereafter in association with HM Land Registry to promote the uptake of electronic conveyancing over a ten-year period aiming to reach 20% by the end of the SR2000 period. | Baseline data is not available. The Land Registration Act is now before Parliament. | MET - ONGOING Land Registration Act received Royal Assent in March 2002. Consultation on section 8 order for electronic conveyancing documents completed; analysis published December 2001. Take-up of existing HM Land Registry e-services is 49.85%. E-lodgements: 1st phase introduced in February 2002; 2nd phase is due for pilot implementation in summer 2003. Phases 3 & 4 to be developed during 2003-04. Electronic Discharges due for pilot implementation in May 2003. Direct Electronic Charges Project aims to be initiated in the first half of 2003. |
| SDA 91: We will implement the Freedom of Information Act by or before 30 November 2005. (Target transferred from Home Office as a result of Restructuring of Government Exercise) |
We will implement the Act across the public sector by January 2005, a process that involves drafting secondary legislation & guidelines and wide consultation across the public sector. | Supplementary guidance on section 19 publication schemes for government departments and NDPBs drafted and issued in July 2002. Order under section 4 of the Act adding further public authorities to the coverage of the Act, laid 21 October, to come into force on 11 November 2002. Section 83 order, to exclude certain public authorities from the definition of "Welsh public authority" for the purposes of the Act, to be made 11 November 2002 (to come into force 30 November 2002). Information Tribunal (Enforcement Appeals) (Amendment) Rules to be laid 1 November 2002 (to come into force 30 November 2002). Commencement order for first three waves of public authorities to whom the Act shall apply to be made 12 November 2002. Codes of practice under sections 45 and 46 to be laid before Parliament 20 November 2002. Lord Chancellor's Annual Report on proposals for bringing fully into force those provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which are not yet fully in force, pursuant to section 87(5) of the Act, to be laid before the House on 27 November 2002. Report on progress of repeal and amendment of statutory bars on disclosure of information held by public authorities to be deposited in the House Library on 27 November 2002. |
The Department's performance against PSA and other key targets is monitored internally by the Strategy & Delivery Branch, a business unit which reports directly to the Principal Establishment & Finance Officer and submits quarterly reports to the Corporate Board, which includes two external members.
The new departmental Management Information System (MIS), phase one of which was delivered in September 2002, will support departmental planning, performance reporting and accountability. By providing staff across LCD HQ and the Court Service with access to case level data held in the main operational systems, it will enhance our ability to support more evidence-based policy initiatives.
The Department's Resource Accounts 2001-02 will be published in early 2003 and copies will be available for purchase at The Stationary Office. The Operating & Financial Review section of the Resource Accounts will explain how the Department is financed, what the Spending Review settlement from HM Treasury will mean for the Department in terms of its programmes for 2003-06 and the impact of the inter-departmental transfer of functions which took place in 2001-02. The Resource Accounts are approved by the National Audit Office every year.
"By working together in the support of the administration of justice, we will be the best at everything we do."
Corporate Vision
The Northern Ireland Court Service was established in 1979 by the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978. Providing support to the administration of justice in Northern Ireland it employs some 720 staff across court venues throughout Northern Ireland, and at its headquarters building located in Belfast city centre.
The director of the Court Service, who reports directly to the Lord Chancellor, is the head of the department, accounting officer and accountant general of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland. In running the department he is supported by a Management Board comprising four directors, each of whom has responsibility for a specific division.
Our aims are:
To facilitate the conduct of the business of the Supreme Court, county courts, magistrates' courts, coroners' courts and certain tribunals.
To give effect to judgments to which the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 applies.
To provide the Lord Chancellor with policy advice and legislative support relating to his ministerial responsibilities in Northern Ireland.
To fulfil our aims, we have seven strategic objectives:
To provide timely, accurate and cost-effective processing of the business in courts.
To develop our working relationship with and improve our support to the Judiciary.
To enable the Law Society of Northern Ireland to provide timely, accurate and cost-effective Legal Aid administration and expenditure control.
To provide quality policy advice and to deliver an agreed programme of legislation (including court rules).
To create an environment in which staff and their contribution to our business are valued.
To enhance the effectiveness of our working relationships with others in the justice system.
To serve the public in a fair and unbiased manner.
The Work of the Service
The Court Service published its Service Delivery Agreement in November 2000, as required under the 2000 Spending Review. In this document we set ourselves a number of challenging targets to improve the quality of the services that we provide. We must achieve these targets in full by 31 March 2004. The performance against our targets was assessed at 30 September 2002. Improvements achieved to the targets specified since we last reported progress earlier last year are as follows:
Implement the agreed recommendations of the reviews of civil and criminal justice in Northern Ireland.
A draft Bill and Implementation Plan for the recommendations of the Criminal Justice Review were published in November 2001. The Court Service made a significant contribution to ensuring the passage of the Bill through its Parliamentary Stages and it received Royal Assent in July 2002. Work is ongoing on implementation.
Other areas of civil and criminal justice where work is underway include the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 and the draft Criminal Justice Order. Work is also ongoing on implementing the recommendations of the Civil Justice Reform Group. Additionally input has been made to Bills brought forward by the Northern Ireland Assembly in areas including Divorce Law Reform, Housing and the Commissioner for Children.
Deliver the programme of Legal Aid reform approved by the Lord Chancellor.
The draft Order went to public consultation in spring 2002. The public consultation exercise closed at the end of July 2002. The Order has now been referred to the NI Grand Committee as the final part of the consultation process.
Improve by 5 per cent the efficiency of services provided to users of civil and family courts.
We have made significant progress in both areas. We have already reached our target of a 5 per cent improvement in family courts' efficiency. We have also achieved a 3 per cent increase in efficiency in civil courts, and work is ongoing to improve this further. Performance was assessed at 30 June 2002, and progress is on target.
Achieve a 10 per cent improvement in the proportion of indictable cases meeting 2001/02 targets for case disposal.
The processing of Crown Court defendants from committal to arraignment is improving on schedule. There has been some slippage in our objective to reduce the time taken between arraignment and hearing. The complex nature of serious offences can affect waiting times. We are continuing to concentrate on this issue.
Improve by 10 per cent the proportion of appeals to the Court of Appeal against sentence being given a hearing date within three weeks from lodgement of documents.
Some 89 per cent of appeals against sentence are given a hearing date within three weeks. Although this represents a slight drop in performance since our last report, the relatively low volume of cases means that one or two difficult cases can adversely affect the figures. Current performance still exceeds targets.
Improve by 5 per cent the time taken for the disposal of summary cases and by 3 per cent the time taken for the disposal of youth cases.
We have made excellent progress in the disposal of summary cases and have already reached our 5 per cent improvement for this target. We are now concentrating on our target for youth cases. A review of youth court business, scheduled for autumn 2002, should assist with identifying opportunities for improvement. The review will take cognisance of the inclusion of 17 year olds in youth courts and the imminent pilot of the Youth Conferencing Scheme.
Increase by 10 per cent the proportion of accepted cases dealt with within two years by the Enforcement of Judgments Office.
A new computer system has been installed and this will assist in the efficiency of case management. Progress towards achieving this target is on course.
Reduce the incidence of payment of fraudulent claims for Legal Aid.
We have developed a counter-fraud strategy and appointed a Fraud Investigation Officer. The percentage of Legal Aid cases investigated for fraud will be increased by 5 per cent by March 2004.
The Fraud Investigation Unit within the Legal Aid Department has initiated several investigations within recent months and to date five major cases have been referred to the Police Service for Northern Ireland.
Improve by 10 per cent the efficiency of the estate maintenance programme.
The new maintenance of the estate contract in the first year has produced savings of 11.87 per cent in its first year 2001-02.
Achieve Charter Mark status for 50 per cent of all courthouses.
The Management Board endorsed the establishment of a Service Improvement Team (SIT) within Operations Division to work across the department to achieve Chartermark accreditation. The SIT meets on a monthly basis to progress customer service issues and manage the Chartermark project. Significant changes to Chartermark criteria and the accreditation process have resulted in the modification of the Project Plan to reflect revised application submission dates. Initial customer surveys were carried out at seven court venues during September 2002.
To implement an Integrated Court Operations System.
The Integrated Court Operations System is under development in association with our Information Technology Strategic Partner. The target date for complete implementation of this system is March 2005. The implementation and utilisation of this system will allow targeted efficiencies to be identified for the Spending Review 2002 period. The first stage of the implementation process will take place on 4 November 2002 when the Small Claims module will be installed in ten separate court venues. The installation of the module will be preceded by a period of intensive training for nominated users.
Developing the Service
We are working to a programme of modernisation, in line with central government reform programmes, to improve our service to the public.
• Policy making
The most significant policies that we have brought forward relate to the implementation of the Civil Justice Reform report, Legal Aid reform and the Government's response to the Criminal Justice Review report. We have also worked closely with other departments on policies which they are bringing forward in connection with criminal, civil and family justice.• Civil justice reform
We have made progress in implementing the recommendations of the Civil Justice Reform Group report designed to make improvements to existing court procedures in Northern Ireland.
To date we have:
introduced an increase in the jurisdiction of the small claims court to £2000 and in the district judges' defended civil bill jurisdiction to £5000;
made new rules governing small claims proceedings;
made new rules in relation to the 'overriding objective' and single item taxation;
submitted to the Supreme Court Rules Committee draft rules on offers to settle and payments in;
engaged with the Law Society on the drafting of pre-action protocols;
carried out required primary legislative changes in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002;
supported the County Court Rules Committee in a review of county court scale costs; and
continued to develop our IT support system in courts.
• Criminal justice review
The Court Service is heavily involved in bringing forward the Government's response to the Criminal Justice Review report as it impacts on the courts and judiciary in Northern Ireland. This has involved working with the Northern Ireland Office in the publication of an Implementation Plan and on the enactment of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.
We have also been working on the non-statutory recommendations in the Review and on implementation issues generally. This will be carried forward in the coming year.
• Legal aid reform
The Lord Chancellor has published his decisions paper, The Way Ahead, which sets out the Legal Aid reform programme for Northern Ireland. The reforms outlined in the decisions paper will be delivered through a Northern Ireland Order in Council. These pave the way for the establishment of a Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission, which will be required to take forward the reform programme. The proposal Order in Council has reached the final stages of the consultation exercise and was considered by the NI Grand Committee in October 2002.
• Responsive public services
We are committed to delivering the highest standard of public services. To ensure that the public is fully involved in the development of our services, we:
consult the public on all policy initiatives; and
make use of public attitude and consumer surveys to develop our customer services.
• Quality public services
We have taken a lead role in the development of the 'legal quarter' concept in the centre of Belfast. Laganside Courts, a new 16 court complex became operational in January 2002. It is the latest landmark building in the Belfast City Centre.
A further new court building in Dungannnon, Co Tyrone is opening in November 2002. As for the Laganside Courts complex, full use has been made of the modern technologies available. We have undertaken a public consultation exercise on our Court Accommodation Strategy 2001-2010 to ensure high quality accommodation at all court venues. The public consultation exercise was completed in the spring. We are currently awaiting ministerial decision on the proposals submitted following the consultation exercise.
• Diversity
We have established a dedicated Diversity Unit to implement those aspects of the Modernising Programme with a diversity focus. Working to a specifically developed strategy and action plan, we started with developing a comprehensive training programme for all managers on managing inclusion and we developed an information pack to support this training. A code of practice on the employment of people with disabilities issued in January 2002. A Dignity and Harmony of Work policy has been developed and will be formally launched before the end of 2002.
• Information age government
The Court Service, in conjunction with a private sector partner, has embarked upon a programme of modernisation through technology - in line with the central government targets for electronic service delivery. Our intranet is now fully operational to allow for electronic delivery of all internal mail. Work is on-going to develop the first phase of the new Internet site which will be available from the New Year. The fully developed site will meet the organisation's commitment to electronic service delivery.
Targets
Twenty five per cent of bail and remand hearings in respect of young offenders to be conducted by live video-link.
We are installing facilities at all court venues. Performance in this area has been excellent with the result that our 25 per cent target has now been met.
A 100 per cent take-up rate for the use of e-forms in the checking of statements of means with the Social Security Agency.
We have achieved this target and all links are now in place.
A 100 per cent take-up rate for the electronic interface between the Fixed Penalty Office and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for the notification of penalty points.
We have achieved this target and all links are now in place.
A twenty five per cent take-up rate between the Department, the Social Services Agency and the Guardian Ad Litem Agency for information exchange through Intranet and Internet facilities.
A pilot exercise with the Social Services Agency, planned for March 2002, was cancelled due to software incompatibilities; a pilot with the Rate Collection Agency was brought forward in its place. Assessment is ongoing.
A 25 per cent take up rate for a fee-payment system to the Enforcement of Judgments Office which allows customers to pay via the telephone and using Switch and Banks Automatic Clearance System (BACS).
Preliminary work on this target has been ongoing and planning is at an advanced stage. The new fee-payment system is not yet operational.
All of our work towards these targets, together with the development of electronic business throughout the organisation, moves us towards our target of reducing paper flow within the organisation by 50 per cent by 2004.
The data collection systems used for the determination of the performance against targets are both robust and timely. Data for numerically based targets are collected and analysed according to the National Statistics standards. Information against the targets is usually available within 6 weeks after the end of the quarter. Non-statistical information is also monitored quarterly by an internal monitoring system.
The Department's Resource Accounts for the financial year ending on 31 March 2002 will be published early in 2003. Copies of the published Resource Accounts may be purchased direct from The Stationery Office, The Stationery Office Bookshops and The Parliamentary Bookshop.
The Resource Accounts for 2001-02 will contain an Operating and Financial Review (OFR). The main aim of the OFR is to enable the reader to understand the influences on the overall results and how they interrelate, and their potential impact in the future. The OFR for 2001-02 is designed to help the reader understand better what the accounts show and what the Northern Ireland Court Service is trying to achieve.
We will continue to work on all of the targets outlined above.
Working is being progressed on our new Corporate Plan which will be formally launched by April 2003 covering the period 2003-2006. This will focus on the key challenges in working towards our desired business improvements. The targets set within our Service Delivery Agreement for 2003-2006 will reflect the SR2002 financial settlement agreed with Treasury.
Working towards a Department of Justice
The Criminal Justice Review recommended the creation, on devolution, of a Department of Justice, bringing together all justice functions other than the prosecution, Law Commission and judicial matters. It is expected that we will become part of the proposed new department, and the Justice (NI) Act will confer a power on the Lord Chancellor to provide for the transfer of our functions. Progress on this is dependent on a return to devolution.
Judicial Appointments Commission
We will have a key role in the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission on the devolution of the justice functions. This new body will assume responsibility for making recommendations to the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister on all judicial and tribunal appointments for which the Lord Chancellor currently has responsibility. Progress on this is dependent on a return to devolution.
The Public Record Office (PRO) is a government department and executive agency under the Lord Chancellor. Every year it produces a four-year corporate plan and detailed business plan for the forthcoming year, which are then submitted to Ministers at the Lord Chancellor's Department for their approval. The PRO's Service Delivery Agreements focus on the key targets set out in its corporate and business plans.
Service Delivery Agreement 2001-04
| Objective | Target | Performance as at 30 September 2002 |
|---|---|---|
| To take forward the electronic records programme, which will enable government departments to meet the Modernising Government target that all newly- created public records should be electronically stored and retrieved by 2004. | We will report each year on departments' progress in meeting milestones towards the 2004 target. We will provide toolkits and other guidance so that departments are enabled to implement the Route Map and Milestones to Achieve ERM by 2004. | On Schedule: reports are now compiled for the Lord Chancellor every six months; action plans are being developed to help accelerate progress in some departments; every department has been asked to nominate an e-minister to assume ownership of this target. |
| To select those public records for permanent preservation which will provide an information resource for our generation and future generations, in accordance with the PRO's acquisition and disposition policies. | By March 2004 the PRO will have in place 28 quality standards to provide guidance on the selection of records. | On Schedule: 17 quality standards in the form of operational selection policies have been finalised, and a further three are in draft/out to public consultation. |
| To preserve the public records - in particular to safeguard government electronic records and to apply new technologies to preserving records created on original media wherever possible. | Progress on this broad objective is measured by the two specific targets below. | |
| To improve the preservation of selected public records by storing all of them to the British Standard for preservation and environmental conditions by 2003-04 [dependent on the progress of Private Finance Initiative project led by the Ministry of Defence for storage of certain records stored off site]. | On Schedule: potential storage sites, which broadly meet the relevant standard have been identified and will be subject to detailed assessment soon. | |
| To secure the preservation of government electronic records and of newly digitised records in the PRO in line with milestones to be established by the PRO's digital preservation strategy. | On Schedule: project to implement a digital storage system has been set up and will be completed before March 2004. | |
| To provide access to the public records and to promote their value and use as a national information and educational resource, and in particular to increase accessibility of the public records by electronic means, in the PRO and around the world. | Progress on this broad objective is measured by the five specific targets below. | |
| To promote the objectives of the Government Policy on Archives to widen access opportunities by developing an Action Plan agreed by the UK Inter-Departmental Archives Committee. | Target Met: Action Plan has been agreed at ministerial level and was published on 30 September 2002. | |
| To increase the combined total of information requests and electronic transactions from 11 million in 1999-2000 to 45 million in 2003-04 [this is an increase from 30 million in the published SDA]. | Target Exceeded: The PRO and associated websites generated over 36 million page impression requests in the period from 1 April to 30 September 2002; total impressions for the year 2001-02 were over 49 million. | |
| To increase the use of the Learning Curve web site so that by 2003-04 it will cover the main relevant history topics in the national curriculum and the number of schools using Learning Curve materials will have increased from 1,000 in 1999-2000 to at least 4,000 by March 2004. | On schedule: an average of at least three online exhibitions/content linked to the National Curriculum are being produced every year; emphasis now is on extending nationwide usage by schools through new video conferencing facility. | |
| To implement our Public Services Development Programme, including self-service facilities to streamline services and the provision of additional computer terminals for users, by 2003-04. | On schedule: some self-service facilities have been introduced, and redesign of public areas will be implemented in 2003-04, in the light of user consultation. | |
| To develop our Contact Centre, with integrated telephone, fax and e-mail services, to enable the public to access detailed information and advice from a single point of contact. | On schedule: Contact Centre, a one-stop shop for information about public records, is fully operational; an integrated tracking system, covering enquiries received through a number of channels, should be in place by end March 2003. |
The PRO's performance against SDA and other key targets is monitored internally by the Central Management Department, a business unit which reports directly to the Chief Executive and submits quarterly reports to the Management Board (which includes two external members). The quality of performance information is also assessed by the PRO's full time internal auditor and twice-yearly by the Internal Assurance Division of the Lord Chancellor's Department. The PRO's audit committee, on which two external members serve, provides advice on the direction of audit activity.
The PRO's resource accounts are approved by the National Audit Office every year.
Her Majesty's Land Registry does not have a formal Public Service Agreement; instead, it has a Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) for which the Lord Chancellor is accountable to Parliament. In addition to his overall responsibilities for the Registry, the Lord Chancellor determines its financial and other performance targets. The Chief Land Registrar, as agency chief executive, is accountable to the Lord Chancellor for the delivery of all targets and performance indicators, including those in SDAs for 2002-03 and beyond.
The SDA targets are geared to the Registry's function, mission and aims and these are described below.
The Registry maintains and develops a register of title to freehold and leasehold land in England and Wales. Title is guaranteed by the State. The Land Register, currently comprising some 18.6 million registered titles, has been open to public inspection since 1990. The Registry also has responsibility for the registration of certain third-party rights under the Land Charges Act 1972 and the Agricultural Credits Act 1928.
The Registry's Mission is:
"to provide the world's best service for guaranteeing ownership of land and facilitating property transactions".
In pursuit of this Mission, the Registry's principal aims are:
to maintain and develop a stable and effective land registration system throughout England and Wales as the cornerstone for the creation and free movement of interests in land;
on behalf of the Crown, to guarantee title to registered estates and interests in land for the whole of England and Wales;
to provide ready access to up to date and guaranteed land information so enabling confident dealings in property and security of title;
to provide a Land Charges and Agricultural Credits service.
The Registry is a separate government department and an executive agency of the Lord Chancellor. It is also a trading fund and, under the terms of its Framework Document, presents its annual report and accounts to Parliament before the summer recess. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2001-02 was published in September 2002 and contains details of the Registry's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other wider business measures.
The following tables show the SDA targets and achievements in 2001-02 and the targets for 2002-03 with the progress made towards achieving those targets as at the end of September 2002. The SDA targets for 2001-02 and the Registry's achievements against those targets are shown in Table 1.
The business of the Registry is demand-led and the volume of transactions can be affected by a number of factors including domestic and commercial conveyancing activity and growth in owner occupation. The current strength of the economy generally is being reflected in the buoyant state of the property market.
Intakes of substantive casework applications have continued to rise. At the end of September 2002 they were 12.5 per cent higher than at the same time in 2001-02 and 20.5 per cent above those in 2000-01. Despite the increasing workload, output is at record levels and all of the SDA targets remain achievable.
The position at the end of September 2002 is shown in Table 2. Technical Notes on the targets have been reproduced at Table 3.
Customer Service
The Registry has carried out formal customer service surveys every year since 1989. It is from feedback from conveyancing practitioners and others that the Registry is able to gauge its performance in terms of providing an efficient and effective service.
Corporate Governance and Internal Controls
The Registry is committed to ensuring that a sound system of internal control exists to support the achievement of departmental policies and objectives whilst safeguarding its income and departmental assets.
It is also committed to practising effective risk management and will therefore continue to ensure that it operates a system of internal control to identify, evaluate and manage the nature and extent of principal risks.
These procedures will enable managers to make informed choices which:
shape business performance through informed and improved decision making and planning;
promote a more innovative and less risk-averse culture; and
provide a sound basis for integrated risk management and internal control as components of good management practice and corporate governance.
The Registry's Audit Committee provides advice to the chief executive (in his role as accounting officer) based on regular reviews of the adequacy of risk management and internal control processes.
Table 1: Key Performance Targets 2001-02
| Target 2001-02 (%) |
Achieved (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | ||
| To deliver a return on average capital employed, payable as a dividend to the Consolidated Fund. | 6 | 17.6 |
| Efficiency | ||
| Cost per unit in real terms. | £23.95 | £21.33 |
| Cost per unit in cash terms.( 1 ) | £29.95 | £29.95 |
| "Service First" Standards | ||
| • Speed | ||
| Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days and | 98 | 100 |
| Percentage of office copies and official search applications processed within three working days. | 100 | 100 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the speed of service of office copies and official search applications. | Better than 92 | 97.08 |
| Percentage of all registrations processed within 25 working days. | 80 | 84.6 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the speed of service of registrations. | Better than 90 | 97.37 |
| • Accuracy | ||
| Percentage of registrations processed free of any error. | 98.5 | 98.73 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the accuracy of registrations. | Better than 90 | 97.43 |
| • Overall Satisfaction | ||
| Percentage of customers who, overall, are very satisfied/satisfied with the full range of services provided by the Land Registry. | Better than 92 | 98.85 |
| • Delivery of Electronic Services | ||
| Percentage electronic delivery of all the Land Registry's services. | 40 | 40 |
| Percentage of titles in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery. | 97 | 97.93 |
| Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions). | 28 | 39.7 |
| Number of scanned Land Charges Registrations, Writs and Orders in Bankruptcy (millions). ( 2 ) | 7 | 7.1 |
Notes to Table 1:
1. Based on GDP deflator issued by HM Treasury on 18 April 2002
2. Denotes millions of images.
Table 2: Key Performance Targets 2002-03
| Target 2002-03 (%) |
Position as at 30.09.02 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | ||
| To deliver a return on average capital employed, payable as a dividend to the Consolidated Fund. | 6 | 16.6 |
| Efficiency | ||
| Cost per unit in real terms. | £23.10 | £18.34 |
| Cost per unit in cash terms.( 1 ) | £29.55 | £23.46 |
| "Service First" Standards | ||
| • Speed | ||
| Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days | 98 | 100 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the speed of service of office copies and official search applications. | 97.8 | 99.31 |
| Percentage of all registrations processed within 20 working days. | 75 | 85.8 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the speed of service of registrations. | 98.3 | 98.32 |
| • Accuracy | ||
| Percentage of registrations processed free of any error. | 98.5 | 98.78 |
| Percentage of customers who are very satisfied/satisfied with the accuracy of registrations. | 98.4 | 97.22 |
| • Overall Satisfaction | ||
| Percentage of customers who, overall, are very satisfied/satisfied with the full range of services provided by the Land Registry. | 49.7 | 50.54 |
| • Delivery of Electronic Services | ||
| Percentage electronic delivery capability of all the Land Registry's key services. | 60 | 40 |
| Percentage of titles in the Land Register capable of electronic delivery. | 97.93 | 98.9 |
| Number of scanned pages of filed documents (millions). | 39.7 | 56.6 |
| Number of scanned Land Charges Registrations, Writs and Orders in Bankruptcy (millions). ( 2 ) | 7 | 3.1 |
Notes to Table 2:
1. Based on GDP deflator issued by HM Treasury on 27 September 2002
2. Denotes millions of images.
Table 3: The Land Registry's Key Performance Indicators explained
| Target | Technical Note |
|---|---|
| Financial | |
| Percentage return on average capital employed. | The operating surplus for the year as shown in the Income and Expenditure account (after taking into account the profit or loss on disposal of capital assets) expressed as a percentage of the average of net assets for the current and previous year. It is payable as a dividend to the Consolidated Fund. |
| Efficiency | |
| Cost per unit in real terms. ( 1 ) | The cost per unit in real terms is the cost per unit in cash terms (see below) divided by the forecast Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator published by HM Treasury. |
| Cost per unit in cash terms. ( 2 ) | The cost per unit in cash terms is defined as the total operating costs on an accruals basis, excluding the cost of accepted indemnity claims, commonhold, e-conveyancing and Index Map vectorisation, divided by the units of workload processed. (A unit is a comparative measurement of the cost and the effort required to process any category of application handled by the Land Registry). |
| "Service First" Standards | |
| • Speed | |
| Percentage of office copy and official search applications processed within two working days and | Office copies and official searches of the Land Register are time-sensitive applications made at the start of the conveyancing process. Measurement is an average of monthly "snapshots". |
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