§ Baroness Hilton of Eggardonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What their plans are for measuring improvements in fine enforcement performance. [HL4959]
§ Lord FilkinSecuring a sustained improvement in fine enforcement and increasing confidence in the criminal justice system are key government priorities. That is why back in June this year we announced a seven-point plan to secure the level of enforcement improvement required.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs is taking forward a wide-ranging programme of change to deliver the seven-point plan. As part of this we have undertaken a review of the existing fine enforcement payment rate target to test whether it provides the right focus for those involved in enforcement activity and are now making changes.
As well as criminal fines properly due, the existing target includes, among other things, civil payments and judicially remitted fines. We have now reviewed it so that the target is to collect a set proportion of fines which are properly due. This will provide a clearer focus for magistrates’ courts committees and enable relative performance to be more easily assessed.
The effect of the revised form of measurement is to change the existing target of 68 per cent, to a value of 75 per cent. Performance data under the new measure will first be available from January 2004 and information under both the old and the new measure will be available for at least the remainder of 2003–04. Performance in areas no longer captured by the payment rate target will be monitored and managed separately.
152WAImplementation of the overall fine enforcement programme will in time enable targets to be set at higher levels.