§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they agree with the Audit Commission (Route to Justice, 2002, paragraph 49) that the separate funding of the criminal justice system through three government departments "runs the risk of detracting from an integrated strategic approach"; and, if so, what action they will take to tackle the problem identified by the commission. [HL4871]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)While recognising and accepting the independence of the component parts of the criminal justice system, the Government have a whole-system approach to provide clear strategic direction for the criminal justice system and to encourage closer working. The CJS business plan sets out system-wide aims, objectives and targets to which all CJS organisations work.
To oversee the delivery of the Government's policies for the management and reform of the CJS, a Ministerial Committee on the Criminal Justice System has been set up, chaired by the Home Secretary. Ministers are advised by a recently established strategic board, made up of the most senior officials from across the CJS organisations and chaired by the Home Office Permanent Secretary. Other trilateral boards have been created to focus on CJS performance, resourcing and planning. This process of working together has helped highlight where policy and process change is needed, both within the individual organisations and across the CJS. The Government do not wish to deflect effort on direct service delivery improvements by going for major departmental reorganisations.
To encourage closer trilateral working, the 2000 spending review introduced the CJS Reserve—£525 million over three years (£200 million in 2002–03)—that is jointly managed by the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney-General. This reserve is used to fund initiatives which contribute to jointly agreed objectives. It provides CJS Ministers with funding flexibility and the ability to respond to changing pressures on the system.