§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what conclusions he has reached about executive agency status for the Scottish Court Service and what targets he will set for the Scottish Court Service. [17950]
§ 4. Mr. LangI have decided that the Scottish Court Service will become an executive agency under the next steps initiative from 3 April 1995. I am arranging for copies of the framework document to be placed in the Libraries of the House. I shall remain accountable to Parliament for the activities of the Scottish Court Service. I am delegating to the chief executive full managerial authority for the agency and its day-to-day operation. For the future, I envisage greater flexibilities to help the Scottish Court Service meet increasingly demanding targets and further improve its standards of service.
Following consultation with the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Sheriffs Principal, I have set the following key performance targets for the Scottish Court Service for 1995–96:
1. That no cases should fall as a result of the statutory time limits being breached.
Targets for Waiting Periods:
— 80 per cent. of diets allocated in the Court of Session within waiting periods set by the Lord President;— 80 per cent. of criminal and justiciary appeals allocated to a roll within waiting periods set by the Lord Justice General;— 75 per cent. of Sheriff Courts to report summary criminal waiting periods agreed with the Sheriffs Principal, currently 12 weeks;— 85 per cent. of Sheriff Courts to report waiting periods between request for ordinary civil proof or debate and diet agreed with the Sheriffs Principal, currently 12 weeks;— 80 per cent. of Sheriff Courts reporting lack of time adjournments at 5 per cent. or lower.Targets for quality of service and provision:
— To achieve 95 per cent. of the standards for administrative business in the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary set by the Lord President/Lord Justice General;— 95 per cent. of Sheriff Courts to achieve the overall standards for administrative business agreed with Sheriffs Principal;— 70 per cent. of courthouses to meet the "Coming to Court" standards set out in the Justice Charter for Scotland.Cost and efficiency:
— staff, accommodation and administrative costs: to be kept within £1,060 per court sitting day;— 70 per cent. of the total costs of civil business in the Court of Session and in the Sheriff Courts to be recovered through fee income.Full details of the performance measures, including the agreed waiting periods, administrative standards and "Coming to Court" standards are set out in the Scottish Court Service framework document.