§ Mr. David MartinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take on the recommendation in the report of the scrutiny of the magistrates' courts service that the service should become an executive agency.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI am very grateful for the detailed consideration which has been given to the report by interested bodies and individuals, and for the comments which they have offered. In the light of the consultations which have taken place since the report was published we now wish to obtain more detailed and accurate estimates of the costs of different options for changing the management structure and organisation of the service. These will cover both the executive agency proposals made in the scrutiny report and, for comparison purposes, an alternative model based on a reduced number of separate management units funded 100 per cent. by central Government but independently managed by local boards. Consultants will be appointed for this purpose. I shall not reach firm decisions about the future organisation of the service until I have had an opportunity to consider the results of this costing assessment.