§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce financial provision for magistrates courts committees for 1992–93; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenIt will not be possible to assign cash limits for 1992–93 to individual committees until after the Chancellor of the Exchequer's autumn statement on public expenditure.
However, to enable courts to make an early start on preparing budgets for the coming year. I have today circulated to magistrates courts committees illustrative tables showing the share of grant for the present financial year they would have been allocated had 1991–92 been the first year of cash limits. This is illustrated by comparison with 1989–90 spending, the most recent year for which confirmed outturn figures are available. Copes have been placed in the Library.
Actual grant allocation for 1992–93 will be based on the cash limiting formula, taking into account the Chancellor's autumn statement provision, and the most recent performance and expenditure data from courts.
A number of modifications to the grant allocation arrangements proposed in January 1991 have been made following extensive consultation with the committees. Individual committees' cash limits will reflect local conditions by taking into account a number of local requirements and measuring work load and performance on the following basis:
Per cent. Weighted case load 60 Effectiveness in collecting fines and compensation 25 Time taken to complete cases 10 Quality of service to the public 5 The revised formula will apply from next April to be phased in over five years, while kept under close review.
To assist committees' preparation of longer-term strategies, the figures include provisional outlines for illustrative purposes of the possible implications for funding over the five-year transitional implementation period of the cash-limiting arrangements, assuming no change in local courts' circumstances.
I wish to make it clear that these are exemplary figures based on recent past expenditure and performance data available and that actual provision in future years will become increasingly based on work load and performance.
Allocation by formula will provide a strong incentive for all committees to find ways of improving the quality and efficiency of their service, while of course maintaining the judicial independence of the courts.