The Government accepts the overwhelming majority of the recommendations made in the final report of the Family Justice Review (2011, ISBN 9780108511158), and proposes a system with children's and families' needs at its heart. The proposed reforms will put practical measures in place to ensure children's voices are heard before and during the court process. A new Family Justice Board will be established in April 2012 and will take the detail of the recommendations forward. All measures will comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Changes to public law are designed to tackle delay and put more focus on the child. Changes to private law will support families to reach their own agreements without needing to being their issues to the courts. Mediation and other support services will again be child-centred, and with a presumption of shared parenting where separation occurs. A new web and telephony service providing a single gateway to advice and guidance for separating parents will be commissioned in 2012 and operational in 2013. Divorce proceedings will be streamlined. Cafcass will move under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Justice. Those working in the family justice system need to change culture and practices if these reforms are to succeed, and judicial leadership is critical. Family courts must be as child-friendly as possible. Annexes cover detailed responses to the Review's recommendations, an update on developing the evidence base for family justice, impact assessments and key references and supporting documents.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and came into full effect on 1 January 2005. The Act gave the public, for the first time, a statutory right (subject to appropriate limitations) to i) find out if a public authority held specified information and, ii) if so, to be provided with access to it. This Memorandum revisits the original objectives and evaluates whether those have been met. It is felt that the FIOA has become embedded in the culture of public authorities and its effects on openness and transparency are clear. The successes do not come without cost, however, primarily in the form of concern at the time taken to process and respond to FOI requests, to conduct public interest tests and consider exemptions. The extent though to which original decisions are neither complained against, or are upheld on complaint, indicate that the FOIA is working largely as it should
Government response to the Consultation paper (Cm. 7947, 9780101804127) seeking views on proposals for implementing Sir Rupert Jackson's recommendations in the "Review of civil litigation costs: final report" (2010, ISBN 9780117064041). Dated March 2011
This White Paper contains a three volume set of documents (Cm. 7342-I/II/III, ISBN 9780101734226) and is part of the Governance of Britain series examining constitutional renewal. In July 2007, the Governance of Britain Green Paper was published (ISBN 9780101717021) which set out the Government's vision and proposals for constitutional renewal, calling on the public, Parliament and other organisations to submit views. The result of the consultation is the publication of this White Paper. Volume 1 covers the substantive issues of constitutional renewal, including: the Government's policy proposals; the Attorney General; judicial appointments; treaties; the civil service; war powers; flag flying and other policies, such as the reform of the Intelligence and Security Committee; a wider review of the Royal Perogative; passports; the National Audit Office; public appointments and Church of England appointments. Volume 2, presents the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill, with Volume 3, setting out an analysis of the consultations. For specific publications on a number of the issues examined here, see Cm. 7239, War Powers & Treaties - ISBN 9780101723923; Cm. 7210, Judicial Appointments, ISBN 9780101721028; Cm. 7192, Role of the Attorney General, ISBN 9780101719223.
This White Paper sets out the Government's programme of reforms to the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It is in part a response to the commitment given by the Prime Minister to learn the lessons from the highly effective and rapid reaction of the criminal justice agencies to last summer's disturbances. This Paper sets out the programme already in train across the criminal justice services to tackle delay and waste, increase accountability and transparency and improve public confidence. The White Paper sets out to reform the criminal justice system by: (i) Creating a swift and sure system of justice; (ii) Making it more transparent, accountable and responsive to local needs.
The Family Justice Review examines the effectiveness of the family justice system and the outcomes it delivers. The review covers both public and private law cases; explores if better use can be made of mediation and how best to support contact between children and non-resident parents or grandparents; examines the processes (but not the law) involved in granting divorces and awarding ancillary relief, and looks at how the different parts of the family justice system are organised and managed. The review is aiming to produce a system which allows families to reach easy, simple and efficient agreements which are in the best interests of children whilst protecting children and vulnerable adults from risk of harm. The agencies and professionals directly involved in the family justice system are all in scope for the Review. This final report takes into account views expressed during the consultation on the interim report and the call for evidence. It makes a number of recommendations to improve public and private law and looks at how the agencies within the family justice system could work together more effectively to improve the experience for children and families
The National Audit Office has reported today that recent improvements to the youth justice system have contributed to reductions in recorded youth crime. However, despite a 25 per cent reduction in the volumes of reoffending, young offenders who receive more serious community sentences or custodial sentences remain as likely to offend again as they were ten years ago when the youth justice system was brought in. The NAO estimates that, in 2009, offending by all young people cost the economy between £8.5 billion and £11 billion. The current number of first-time entrants is the lowest since comparable records began in 2001. The number of young people held in custody has reduced by 14 per cent over the past five years, at a time when the adult prison population grew by 14 per cent. And the proportion of all young offenders who reoffend fell from 40 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent in 2008, with the volume of their reoffending dropping by 25 per cent. However, the rates of reoffending for those who receive most of the youth justice system's resources are much less encouraging. The proportion of young offenders receiving more serious community sentences who go on to reoffend has gone up since 2000. Although the number of offences committed by these young people has reduced, this suggests that reform remains particularly difficult with the most challenging offenders. Recent reforms to the system should help ensure that resources are directed at offenders most at risk of reoffending, and prevention programmes have taken pragmatic approaches based on the available evidence. Some three-quarters of Youth Offending Team managers agreed that it is difficult to find evidence of what works for certain areas of their work. With resources likely to reduce, the youth justice system is therefore in a weak position to know which activities to cut and which to keep to ensure that outcomes do not deteriorate.
In safeguarding national security the Government produces and receives sensitive information. This information must be protected appropriately, as failure to do so may compromise investigations, endanger lives and ultimately lessen its ability to keep the country safe. The increased security and intelligence activity of recent years has led to greater scrutiny including in the civil courts, which have heard a growing numbers of cases challenging Government decisions and actions in the national security sphere. Such cases involve information that under current rules cannot be disclosed in a courtroom. The UK justice system is then either unable to pass judgment and cases collapse or are settled without a judge reaching any conclusions. This green paper aims to respond to the challenges of how sensitive information is treated in the full range of civil proceedings. It looks for solutions that improve the current arrangements while upholding the Government's commitment to the rule of law. It also addresses the need for public reassurance that the national security work is robustly scrutinised, and that the scrutinising bodies are credible and effective. The proposals in this consultation are in three broad areas: enhancing procedural fairness, safeguarding material and reform of intelligence oversight.
It is inevitable that the UK will have strategic, commercial or security-related interests overseas which have the potential to conflict with its human rights work, says the Foreign Affairs Committee in a report published today. The Government should not be trying to assert that the two can co-exist freely: it should instead be explaining publicly its judgments on how to balance them in particular cases. The Committee's recommendation comes in the light of the FCO's decision not to designate Bahrain as a "country of concern" in its 2011 report on its human rights work, despite the repression of demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011. The Committee recommends that the criteria for designation should be based purely on assessments of human rights standards and should not be coloured by strategic or other considerations. The Committee also challenges the Government for being inconsistent in not taking a public stance on the Bahrain Grand Prix but boycotting group stage games at Euro 2012 in Ukraine. On rendition, the Committee finds that the protracted police investigations had an unacceptable impact on the work of the Gibson Inquiry and of relevant committees. The Government should explain why current investigations into claims of rendition made by two Libyans are expected to take so long. The Committee accepts that enough progress has been made in Burma to justify some relaxation of the EU's sanctions regime, but it says that Burma's human rights record remains seriously blemished. It recommends that the UK should call for better access to those still detained as political prisoners, and should press the Burmese authorities to allow independent observers to visit Rakhine state, to assess the extent to which the rights of the Rohingya minority are being respected.
In Lord Justice (Sir Rupert) Jackson's report, ’Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report', (ISBN 9780117064041, January 2010 109 recommendations are put forward to promote access to justice at proportionate costs. This consultation sets out the proposals that the Government is taking forward as a priority. These include Sir Rupert's package of proposals on the reform of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) and on damages-based agreements (DBAs or ’contingency fees'). Sir Rupert also puts forward two alternative packages of recommendations should the primary recommendations not be implemented. These packages would introduce more rigorous control over the level of success fees and ATE insurance premiums that can be recovered from the losing side. The Government considers that the radical reform proposed in Sir Rupert's primary recommendation is needed, but these alternative measures are included in this consultation so that those responding can consider other options. This consultation also covers three other proposals from Sir Rupert's report. The first is to ensure proportionality of total costs. The second is allowing lawyers to enter into damages-based agreements (DBAs) with their clients in litigation before the courts. The use of these agreements is currently not permitted in litigation. However, the Government agrees with Sir Rupert that allowing DBAs would give litigants greater choice in deciding the most appropriate funding method for their case, and could increase access to justice for claimants if CFAs become less attractive. The third concerns increasing the hourly rate recoverable by a successful litigant in person.
The Ministry of Justice are transforming how they manage offenders, so that they are both punished when they break the law, and are also more supported to get their chaotic lives back on track. They now want to make sure that these same principles are applied to the way young adults in custody are managed. Young adults (18-20 year olds) who are held in custody are usually accommodated in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) rather than adult prisons. The context in which this was an effective means of managing this group has changed, and the current approach is no longer appropriate or effective. They are proposing a new approach to managing young adults that takes into account the challenges of this age group as well as ensuring they benefit from wider reforms. Many young adults are still maturing and sometimes lack the skills to negotiate complex social situations. When large numbers of people in this age group are held together, they can become so volatile it becomes difficult for staff to manage them. If this continues, there is a danger that the experience of young adults in custody will become more about containment and less about rehabilitation and supporting them to desist from offending. In the new framework, it is proposed that all young adults will be accommodated in mixed institutions, where resources are targeted on their risks and rehabilitation and resettlement needs. The aim is to ensure that their time in custody is both safe and effective.
In this response to the Justice Committee following their inquiry into female offenders, the Ministry of Justice sets out plans to establish an open unit at HMP Styal and test this approach, set up community employment regimes across the estate to improve more women's access to jobs for their release, and create strategic hubs in order to improve closeness to home in certain regions. In addition to this, for the first time, all women will receive support through-the-gate and 12 months supervision on release as part of the Transforming rehabilitation reforms. NOMS' Stocktake of Community Services for Female Offenders shows that the spread and availability of community services specifically for women has been increasing. This sets the groundwork for the expansion of community support to women on release from short-sentences in 2014 and beyond. Efforts to divert women from custody where it is appropriate to do so also continue. The Ministry is also introducing legislation through the Offender Rehabilitation Bill to ensure that the Secretary of State enters into contracts with probation providers that identify and consider the particular needs of female offenders. To this end guidance is being issued so that probation providers fully understand the particular needs of female offenders and how to meet those needs.
This is the latest in a series of reports to the Joint Committee on Human Rights setting out the Government's position on the implementation of adverse human rights judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the domestic courts. It covers the period 1 August 2012 to 31 July 2013. The main focus of this paper is on two particular types of human rights judgments: judgments of the ECtHR in Strasbourg against the United Kingdom under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); and declarations of incompatibility by United Kingdom courts under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998. A feature of these judgments is that their implementation may require changes to legislation,4 policy or practice, or a combination thereof
This outlines the background and responses to Consultation paper CP 15/2013, Cm. 8608 (ISBN 9780101860826). It covers the reforms of the fee remission system; next steps; summary of responses and resultant policy changes. In summary the changes are: the amendment of the disposable capital test to include more thresholds and the provision of a different threshold for those aged 61 or over; amendments and clarifications to the terms of the disposable capital test; the addition of more excluded benefits under the gross monthly income test; time period in which to apply for a retrospective fee remission to be three rather than two months; and application of the same eligibility test to prisoners and their partners. The government intends to implement the changes by Statutory Instrument by October 2013.
Judicial review allows individuals, businesses and others to ask the court to consider whether, for example, a government department has gone beyond its powers, a local authority has followed a lawful process or an arms-length body has come to a rational decision. As such, it is a crucial check to ensure lawful public administration. The expansion of judicial review has, in the government's view, led to abuse of the system. The earlier consultation "Judicial Review: Proposals for Reform" (ISBN 9780101851527), introduced changes to the time for bringing planning or procurement challenges and offered a way for courts to filter out unmeritorious challenges. This follow-up review seeks further reform in areas such as: the courts' approach to cases which rely on minor procedural defects; rebalancing financial incentives; speeding up appeals to the Supreme Court in a small number of nationally significant cases and planning challenges. Also this paper looks at the potential reform as to who can bring judicial review and whether alternative mechanisms exist to resolve disputes. The paper also includes a proposal in relation to the payment of legal aid providers in judicial review cases.
This Code of Practice for Victims of Crime forms a key part of the wider Government strategy to transform the criminal justice system by putting victims first, making the system more responsive and easier to navigate. Victims of crime should be treated in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner without discrimination of any kind. They should receive appropriate support to help them, as far as possible, to cope and recover and be protected from re-victimisation. It is important that victims of crime know what information and support is available to them from reporting a crime onwards and who to request help from if they are not getting it. This Code sets out the services to be provided to victims of criminal conduct by criminal justice organisations in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is behaviour constituting a criminal offence under the National Crime Recording Standard. Service providers may provide support and services in line with this Code on a discretionary basis if the offence does not fall under the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) (see the glossary of key terms found at the end of this Code). Non-NCRS offences include drink driving and careless driving. This Code also sets a minimum standard for these services. Criminal justice organisations can choose to offer additional services and victims can choose to receive services tailored to their individual needs that fall below the minimum stand
Published in association with Great Britains Cabinet Office, the Civil Service Yearbook is a one-stop reference tool for anybody working in, dealing with, or interested in any aspect of Great Britains Civil Service. It provides full details of all central and devolved government, their contact details, responsibilities and key staff; comprehensive details of all executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies and their affiliations; details of a wide range of related organizations, including museums, galleries, libraries, and research establishments; and improved research aids to make sure that this information is even more accessible than before.
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