I know that you have all been working extremely hard to make HMCS a reality. I know that appointments to Courts Boards and the drafting of Business Plans are beginning to enable us to start focus on the realisation of benefits from the Unified Administration.
It is an important reform and the months between now and April are critical. I know that the big picture can get lost sometimes in the transitional period, when you are faced with the very real day to day challenges of preparing for implementation. But the creation of HMCS is an incredibly significant moment in the history of our courts in the UK. It's not just about the joint running of 43 different organisations - HMCS will be a new organisation. Not a take-over by the Court Service. There is strength in both the traditions of the Court Service and of the Magistrates' courts and we intend to build on the legacy of both.
HMCS is fundamentally about re-focusing our courts on the people who rely upon them every day. It's about helping staff to provide the best service they can to court users. And it's about improving people's confidence in the justice system as a whole.
In the face of these huge changes, we need to retain this focus. Delivery means individual staff in each and every court in England and Wales meeting the needs of the people who come through their doors. And you are critical in making sure this happens.
And any change of this kind brings challenge as well as opportunity. I want to talk today about what this means in practice. What this means for you.
Firstly, focusing on court users.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs is still a new Department. It was set up to put an important principle into practice. That the reforms we make are there for the public - not for the judges, or the lawyers. But for the public for whom the justice system exists. That commitment remains. The courts, the law and the justice system have a vital impact upon the daily lives of the public. That impact needs to be recognised. The work you do touches the lives of thousands of people in thousands of ways - many of whom will never come to court, may not even know the steps you have taken to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour in their communities.
Victims and witnesses are at the heart of this vision. By 2008 victims and witnesses will have a statutory right to minimum standards of service; offering tailored support from Witness Care Units in all cases where someone is charged with an offence; and all Crown Court buildings will have separate waiting facilities for prosecution and defence victims and witnesses.
And there are other vulnerable court users we need to consider. Joining up the administration of the magistrates' courts and the county courts will enable us to make real change in the delivery of family justice. There will be one management, working in partnership with the judiciary - securing real improvements for vulnerable children and families. You will be able to better manage family cases - for the benefit of those who rely on your work.
And there is more we are doing to focus on the needs of the public. Each of the new Courts Boards that are being set up will have two people on them who are ‘representative of the local community'. They will ensure that the lines of accountability to the public are strong. They will ensure that courts make connections with local people.
Courts Boards will play an integral part in the new organisation - contributing to the development of business plans for their local area; reviewing their implementation; and contributing their own ideas. And the role of the agency's Chief Executive and Regional and Area Directors will be crucial in ensuring that the partnership really works.
The challenge is to provide a better service to court users. HMCS gives us the opportunity to do so.
Secondly, we want our courts to be respected. HMCS will achieve this.
By 2008 the aim is to have a system that the public has greater confidence in. A system that is effective in fighting crime. And a system that serves all communities fairly.
To achieve this, we need rigorous enforcement of sentences and orders of the court
We have set out innovative measures to crack down on those who fail to turn up at court or comply with fines and community penalties. Your role in making these work will be crucial. We are giving staff more powers - including increased powers for frontline enforcement staff and new measures and sanctions from the Courts Act 2003. A national crackdown on fine defaulters, Operation Payback 2, was launched earlier this month and sends a strong message to offenders that crime definitely does not pay and that we are serious about enforcing court decisions.
We need to demonstrate that what the court orders is not optional. Primarily so that people respect the work the courts do. But also so that people feel more secure in their communities. HMCS will enable us to achieve this by bringing together the constituent parts of the criminal justice system.
HMCS will mean better administration of Justice. Fewer ineffective trials. More confidence that justice works.
Thirdly, the creation of HMCS provides us with an opportunity to make better connections with the people we serve. Institutions that are distant from the people they serve, are institutions that are failing. Where the connections break down, people lose faith and trust in the work we do.
But the reverse it also true. Where we build bridges it can reinvigorate the relationship between citizen and state, or between service and service user. Where courts are close to their communities and alert to their needs the benefits are considerable.
Let me give you one example:
As Housing Minister I visited housing estates and regeneration projects. These were in some of the poorest areas of the country. The problems were complex and many-layered - housing in disrepair, poor transport, failing schools. As a Government we are responding to these issues, matching investment and reform.
But, consistently, the issue that concerned people the most was not the physical environment, but the behaviour of an anti-social minority.
And, rightly or wrongly, people didn't feel they were getting the response they needed.
The problem of anti-social behaviour gives us a different challenge to what we are used to dealing with. The ‘victim' is often a whole area or a whole street. One incident is bad enough, but the cumulative effect can hold back the regeneration of an entire area.
Anti-social behaviour, like a dripping tap, builds and builds. It puts an intolerable pressure on the people on the receiving end of the behaviour.
Likewise, when we make connections and respond it can renew people's faith in the courts and in the criminal justice system.
Of course you can't do this alone - other agencies need to play their part. Individual causes need to be addressed - mental health or drugs. And we need to look at the community as a whole - with investment in infrastructure and regeneration.
But the courts have undoubtedly played their part.
The new powers to tackle anti-social behaviour have been used effectively. The increased use of Anti-social Behaviour Orders, dispersal orders and injunctions is sending a clear message. A clear message that where the social contract that binds people together is broken, the law-abiding majority can be confident that we will act to repair it.
And, we have gone further.
A new Community Justice Centre is being developed in Liverpool. I have appointed the judge and the first services will begin next month. The Centre is in the heart of the community, providing the services that people need, responding directly to their concerns.
And 41 Anti-social Behaviour Response Courts have now been set up. We will be setting up more. It is the same with drugs and domestic violence - specialist courts are also in place.
What we ultimately want, is for people to feel that the work you do in their courts, makes them more secure in their communities. It is in the Magistrates Courts where 95% of Criminal cases are dealt with. We cannot hope to achieve much in our communities without supporting the Magistrates in their important role. Magistrates Courts will receive more support within HMCS. Barriers will be broken down to create new opportunities for better ways of working. In October my department published a paper entitled ‘Supporting Magistrates To Provide Justice'. The aim is to generate new ideas for supporting Magistrates' courts. Sir Ron is chairing both the Programme Board and the Partnership Group for this work.
Questionnaires have been sent to every Magistrate England and Wales- and they are available on the DCA website. We have also written to all LCJB chairs asking for collective contributions from their boards. We want your views on how we can better support the work of the Magistrates' courts. Whether that means ways to improve working with other agencies of the Criminal Justice System, ways to ensure orders are obeyed and or ways to improve public perceptions of Magistrates courts.
This is an important programme of work to help us provide a better service. The more courts connect with these issues, the more they will be respected. The more the judicial family reflect the wider community, the better justice will be served.
So, rather than being distant and disconnected, the reforms we made together show that the courts are listening to what communities want and are taking action to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
With all these changes it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task ahead.
I am aware that HMCS has much work to do in the coming months to establish the new agency. I am also aware of the considerable programme of change that is already being undertaken in the courts. In IT. In training. In Structures.
I truly value the commitment you, your magistrates, judges and staff are making in achieving these critical initiatives.
There are lots of opportunities opening up. And some huge challenges as well. Appointments to Courts Boards, drafting business plans, all of this is starting to enable us to focus on realising the benefits of a Unified Administration. But to do this, we will need to get the mechanics of the transition right: maintaining staff morale and boosting confidence.
HMCS is not about “re-inventing the wheel”. We are rightly proud of our courts in the UK. They are the envy of the world. Upright, Fair. Respected. The creation of HMCS is a blend of continuity and change. We want to keep those things that work well, but use the opportunities that a unified administration presents to improve the service we provide.
I have heard so much that should make us proud of the service we provide, on my travels around the country. Cases discharged promptly. Witnesses given proper support. Facilities which make the experience of going to court as tolerable as possible for children and their families. Magistrates and judges who understand the concerns of their communities. But there is more to be achieved and I am very confident that the creation of HMCS is a significant step in the right direction.