Crown Courts (Hansard, 14 May 1990)

§ 43. Mr. Alex Carlile
To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on staffing levels in the Crown courts.

§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Nicholas Lyell)
Staffing levels in the Crown court are kept under review in the light of workload trends.

§ Mr. Carlile
Does the Solicitor-General agree that the heavy turnover of staff in Crown court offices is unacceptable? Does not he recognise that that is partly due to the reduction in the more senior management posts which have made a career in the Crown court unattractive?

§ The Solicitor-General
I recognise the problem, particularly in London and parts of the south-east. I am not sure that I agree with the hon. and learned Gentleman about the cause, and it is worth remembering that the burden on the Crown court is down, with the number of cases committed for trial decreasing from 104,000 last year to 100,000 in the year just ended. Furthermore, the Crown prosecution service has taken on the job of drafting indictments. Obviously the career structure as a whole within the Government legal service is important.

§ Mr. Lawrence
Of course, this is not the easiest time for the Treasury, but will my right hon. and learned Friend make it absolutely clear to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the excellent reforms, transferring work from the High Court to the county court, which the Government are proposing will have important ramifications for staffing and cannot take place if the resources are not available?

§ The Solicitor-General
My hon. and learned Friend makes a good point. He should bear it in mind that over the past five years expenditure on the court services has increased from £145 million in 1984–85 to £261 million in 1989–90, and that there is an extra £70 million in the current year for the Lord Chancellor's Department although not all of it is for the court service.

§ Mr. Madden
Will the Solicitor-General give an assurance that however much the Government want to save public expenditure on the courts they will in no way assist the National Front to become a limited liability company and possibly a charity, thereby enabling it to continue to publish material that incites racism behind a legal smokescreen which the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry seems to be anxious to assist?

§ The Solicitor-General
The National Front does not arise from this question. As for saving money on the courts, if an increase in expenditure of about 80 per cent. in five years, with further increases this year, is thought to be saving money, I should be interested to scrutinise the Opposition's proposed budget.