16 May 2007
Manchester City Magistrates' Court
Lord Falconer announced to the public the 8 promises HMCS had come up with to deliver even better services for the public. He announced that delivering on these promises would lead to swifter justice and make a real breakthrough in the public's experience of the courts.
Good morning. It is an absolute pleasure to be here in Manchester. I never fail to be impressed when I visit this city. It is as a city with history and a city with vision. A place where there is a great sense of working to make things even better. I'm delighted that Manchester and the UK has been showcased around the world through your hosting of the Paralympic World Cup and event as triumphant as it was wet.
It was just a week ago today that the Ministry of Justice came into being.
It came into being with a clear purpose: to improve the justice system so that it produces better outcomes for the public. The new commitments that we are announcing this morning immediately put that purpose into practice.
The Ministry of Justice is a significant change in the organisation of the nation's government. It represents a hugely important opportunity to push forward improvements to how justice is delivered and how it is experienced by the public.
In bringing the courts, prisons and probation under one roof along with policy for civil, family and criminal law - we can help the system work better together. Not only is there a clear administrative benefit, but through the clear leadership that the new department will provide we can instil a new culture throughout the administration of justice. There is a shared sense among those who work in the system to take the opportunities.
On day one we outlined our penal policy a long term policy based on the need to have a sustainable policy which protects the public, reduces re-offending and provides an appropriate punishment to fit the crime.
But this morning, I am announcing our commitment to improving the operation of the courts across civil and family as well as criminal courts. These new pledges will lead to real improvements for everyone who uses the courts. They will see justice delivered more quickly and much more simply.
If we are going to get experiences and outcomes right we need to get the processes and procedures right.
This is not about bureaucratic tinkering. This is about delivering real change, lasting change a breakthrough in the public's experience of the courts. A critical commitment of the new Ministry is to empower those who know best to deliver in the way they know best for their communities.
I believe that it is the people at the front-line of delivering public services who very often have the best sense of what is needed. But it is often these very people who do not have a loud enough voice in determining policy.
The eight breakthrough promises that I am announcing this morning are not new initiatives dreamt up in an office in Whitehall. They have come directly from courts' staff the people doing the day-job, the people who really understand what works, and what doesn't. Bottom-up and not top-down reform.
Can I thank two groups of people at this point. Firstly, the group of court staff who drew up the promises, some of whom are here today:
- Neil Ward
- Richard Knott
- Shelia Proudlock
- Clare Pillman
- Alan Eccles
- Sandra Aston
- Mike Littlewood
- Rod Brummitt
- Sheridan Greenwood
- Pat Lloyd
Secondly, all the court staff I have met and talked to about this. Over the last three months I have visited courts across the country and met court managers and talked with them about this.
It is not often that you can say that more than 200 people have personally helped to create a policy. That is exactly what has happened here. But it is more than creating a policy the courts are already delivering it. Court staff around the country have been determined to put these promises into place before any announcement. Today we are making these promises public.
The eight breakthrough promises are practical commitments based on what we know works it is not about intention, it is about action. We know it works because somewhere in the courts each promise is already happening. Not necessarily all at once or at the same pace everywhere - but it is happening.
What needs to happen now is that what works is put into practice more consistently across the country. The quality of service our justice system provides should not be dependent on an accident of geography. The performance of the courts, and ultimately people's experience of the courts varies enormously around the country. In many cases this is to do with different local pressures and problems put on the courts but it is also down to the fact that standards are not consistently applied.
Everywhere I go there is a profound commitment to quality and in my four years as the minister responsible for the court system I have been struck profoundly by the desire of those who work in the courts system to deliver a quality and reliable service -and to seek ways to improve. These 8 promises come from the people who have been delivering.
We cannot, nor would we ever as a government try and influence the individual decision in a case. That is a matter for an entirely independent judiciary to determine. But what we can influence, and must influence, is the court user's experience of the process. No-one can undo the harm done through being a victim of crime, or remove the damage that can be done to families going through child care proceedings or the strain many civil cases can bring. But the system can work to lessen the distress.
People who need to go to court - in whatever capacity - can benefit from a better service and a better experience. And this is what the breakthrough promises will provide.
- We are giving greater priority and urgency to public law cases - These involve hugely important issues such as whether children should be taken into care. We will deliver on our commitment to resolving the matter in less than 40 weeks, unless it is in the interest of the child to prolong the case, if an investigation is on-going for instance. In Luton we have seen the important role of case progression officers who work with the judiciary to ensure that family cases are both prioritised and effectively run.
- We are simplifying and speeding up criminal cases in the magistrates' courts so: more guilty plea cases are dealt with at the first hearing; most contested cases have no more than two hearings; the majority of simple charged cases take from one day to 6 weeks from charge to disposal. The hugely successful pilots in Coventry, Camberwell, Thames and West Cumbria have seen a 30% increase in guilty pleas at first hearing. 60% of guilty pleas dealt with on that day. 70% reduction in adjournments at first hearing. We need to see these types of improvements across every magistrates' court by the end of the year.
- We are embedding community justice principles in all magistrates' courts ensuring that courts are connecting to the community, that they are involving local people more in the work of the court. Making a breakthrough in the experience of the courts does require more than procedural reform. Down the road in Salford and in North Liverpool we have seen the confidence that can come when local people feel that the court is there to address their problems, and is engaging them in the solution.
- We are encouraging more families to resolve issues themselves through providing in-court conciliation or directing parties to mediation, to limit the distress that a court case can bring. In Birmingham, CAFCASS send both parties an invitation to in-court conciliation before the first directions hearing, and if successful, this hearing can be used to make a consent order. Simple and effective.
- We are putting in place systems and incentives to ensure that much more civil business is initiated online, including revising court fees to make them cheaper if claims are submitted online rather than on paper. In Essex and Surrey court managers have been directly targeting users who submit a large volume of claims to encourage them to switch over to Money Claims On Line.
- We are providing a simpler and quicker service in the county courts through dealing with all but the most complex small claims through mediation. During a one year pilot here in Manchester, 86% of the mediations conducted were settled on the day, not one of which required any follow up.
- We are reducing the time taken to deal with cases in the Crown Court, so that the majority of cases are commenced and concluded within 16 weeks. The Crown Courts deal with a complex range of cases which can and do take different lengths of time to resolve. Yet a thorough look has shown that the majority of their business can be done more quickly. In the North East, courts have demonstrated some of the simple steps that make a difference. Courts work closely with prosecution teams to obtain case summaries for the first hearing in every case, so that the hearing can be more effective, any guilty pleas can be entered as early as possible with trial dates set. They have also been putting systems in place for courts and prosecution to meet regularly to review performance and address problems. This is technical stuff, but the important thing is the effect: quicker justice.
- We are providing a knowledgeable, personalised and accessible service to the public. This is about setting a culture of high standards of customer service right across HMCS. People need to be helped through difficult, upsetting or complicated times. For many HMCS staff this comes utterly as second nature but if we are being honest, not quite everywhere. Take the example of the Bailiff Manager at Grimsby Combined Court who has set up advice surgeries in local libraries, and even in a local college where he spoke to students about the consequences of getting into debt. Sheffield Crown and County Courts conduct local face to face surveys, and look at feedback from comment cards, user groups and complaints so that they can provide an improved service that better meets the needs of local people. At the end of each quarter they put up notices you said&&.we did.
These are a summary of the 8 promises. We know how we will do it. We are doing it. Now we will do it consistently across the country.
These 8 promises were created by the courts and will be delivered by the courts, working with a host of local agencies, the judiciary and local people.
My one promise, as Secretary of State, is to keep up the pressure so that every court in England and Wales is delivering all of these promises by the end of 2008.
The scale of the change that we want to see is significant. But it is entirely achievable. It is already underway. We have seen how courts have already been making a huge difference to people's lives. And through the utter commitment, dedication and expertise of the people who work in the justice system we can bring about a real breakthrough in people's experience of justice.
Breakthrough is empowerment in action. Front-line solutions from front-line staff to improve front-line services.
Thank you.