1-5 of 5 results for subject:Modernisation
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The Government have undertaken an unprecedented sale of courts, which has made giving evidence in court far more difficult for the many victims of crime who now have to travel much further to have their day in court. As the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) said, the fact is that victims of sexual and other physical abuse are already reluctant to come to court, and this plays into that even more. Will the Minister agree to an independent assessment of the impact of these court closures and commit to no further closures unless it can be proved that they are not having a detrimental impact on access to justice?
The Government have undertaken an unprecedented sale of courts, which has made giving evidence in court far more difficult for the many victims of crime who now have to travel much further to have their day in court. As the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) said, the fact is that victims of sexual and other physical abuse are already reluctant to come to court, and this plays into that even more. Will the Minister agree to an independent assessment of the impact of these court closures and commit to no further closures unless it can be proved that they are not having a detrimental impact on access to justice?
Of course, access-to-justice considerations are extremely important. Before any court is earmarked for closure, there is an extremely thorough consultation process, and if any courts are due to close in the future, a similarly thorough consultation process will be gone through. I would point out that in the cohort of courts consulted on in 2015 that were subsequently closed, on average their utilisation rates were about one third. We need to balance a reasonable approach to the court estate with the access-to-justice considerations that the hon. Lady quite rightly raises.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the reduction in staff as a result of the courts modernisation programme in (a) London, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Bolton and (d) England.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the reduction in staff as a result of the courts modernisation programme in (a) London, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Bolton and (d) England.
We do not hold expected staffing numbers for our end state in specific geographical locations. as there are often changes as the Reform programme develops. End state Service Centres are an example of this, where large numbers of our administrative staff will be based, but locations have not been finalised. We will assess the impact of reform as it is delivered on the number of courts we need, and will be carefully considering where changes to the estate are required to maximise the benefits of reform while making sure that effective access to justice is maintained.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support employees who are due to lose their jobs as a result of the courts modernisation programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support employees who are due to lose their jobs as a result of the courts modernisation programme.
HMCTS has recognised the impact that the Courts Reform Programme will have on its workforce over the next few years. To support this change, HMCTS is providing a new style of career transition support. This means that employees will get access to career transition support services earlier. It has invested in an end to end career transition support service for all employees to access. The comprehensive support package has been designed to support employees to make a proactive choice in their future via an online portal – My Future Matters. The portal is a central point for employees to access support and practical career tools such as workshops, one-to-one coaching, on-site support sessions, and a personal career coach to assist them to develop their own transition plan. We are also committed to providing continuing employment within HMCTS for all staff impacted by Courts Reform, including priority access to suitable alternative roles within the organisation, and appropriate opportunities within the Ministry of Justice and wider civil service departments.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to (a) hold and (b) publish the outcome of a future public consultation on the courts reform programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to (a) hold and (b) publish the outcome of a future public consultation on the courts reform programme.
On 15 September 2016, the Government published a consultation paper, “Transforming our Justice System”, setting proposals for the reform of our courts and tribunals. This was accompanied by a joint statement by the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals setting out their shared vision for the future of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/553261/joint-vision-statement.pdf
The government response to consultation was published on 8 February 2017: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590391/transforming-our-justice-system-government-response.pdf
Further details of how we are engaging our stakeholders in developing the reform programme are set out in the response to the Committee of Public Accounts third recommendation on Courts and Tribunals reform, which can be accessed at the following link. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/759859/HMCTS060_ExternalStakeEngageApproach_FINAL.pdf
We hear a lot from the Government about this so-called court modernisation programme, but many people believe that it is simply a smoke-screen to cut the number of courts and reduce the provision of legal representation for those in court. Will the Minister agree to the Law Society’s call for an independent economic review of the long-term viability of the criminal legal aid system?
We hear a lot from the Government about this so-called court modernisation programme, but many people believe that it is simply a smoke-screen to cut the number of courts and reduce the provision of legal representation for those in court. Will the Minister agree to the Law Society’s call for an independent economic review of the long-term viability of the criminal legal aid system?
We do make a lot about court reform because we are spending £1 billion to bring our court system up to date. In relation to legal aid, we have an ongoing review that will report at the end of the year, and we will be evaluating our court reform programme.