HL Deb 26 October 2004 vol 665 cc40-2WS
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Christopher Leslie) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The following table sets out the targets that have been set for the Court Service for 2004–05. Copies of the Court Service business plan for 2004–05 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Headline Targets Target 2004–05
To support local criminal justice boards in meeting their targets, including:
Reducing proportion of Crown Court ineffective trials; From 24 per cent to 17 per cent by March 2006
Ensuring cases are disposed of promptly (measured as a percentage of Crown Court defendants and appellants whose cases are heard within target time); 78 per cent
Reducing period from charge to sentence for persistent young offenders; and 71 days
Headline Targets Target 2004–05
Increasing sitting days in the Crown Court, (in line with increase in number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice) to 1.2 million by 2005–06. 104,200 sitting days
(Contributes to PSA 1 and 2)
Increasing year on year the level of satisfaction in four key areas of service delivery To increase: Knowledge of court staff at the public counter
Knowledge of court staff on the telephone
Speed of resolution of complaints
Helpfulness of written replies
(Contributes to PSA 4)
Reducing issue of non-family claims in the civil courts From a baseline of 1,790k in 2002–03 to 1,580k by March 2006
Headline Targets Target 2004–05
Reducing proportion of non-family cases allocated for hearing and resolved by a hearing From a baseline of 48.9 per cent in 2003 to 47 per cent by March 2006
Reducing the number of non-family hearings From a baseline of 71,300 in 2003 to 64,700 by March 2006
Increasing the proportion of contact and ancillary relief orders made by consent From a baseline of 70.6 per cent in 2003 to 73.4 per cent by March 2006