Clause 5 - Functions of courts boards
Courts Bill [Lords]
3:15 pm
Mr David Heath (Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
The amendment would beef up the functions of the courts boards just a little bit. There has rightly been a considerable amount of discussion, both in another place and outside, about what exactly would be the functions of the courts boards and to what degree they would have any management functions or whether they are merely sounding boards with little consequence in affecting the Lord Chancellor's decisions. The amendment would seek to make it an explicit function of the courts boards to consider how the Lord Chancellor exercises his functions under clause 21.
Clause 21—''Duty to consult lay justices on matters affecting them etc.''—says:
''The Lord Chancellor must take all reasonable and practicable steps . . . for ensuring that lay justices acting in a local justice area are kept informed of matters affecting them in the performance of their duties, and . . . for ascertaining their views on such matters.''
That is a kind of lock—a lock on the Lord Chancellor—to ensure that the courts boards have a handle on whether the systems, which the Minister is
putting in place under the Bill, will have the desired effect. That is a sensible proposal. If the courts boards had the duty of oversight, they could take soundings from the local justice areas in their purview and talk to local magistrates and people who use the courts. If it seemed as though it was all going pear-shaped or that the Government were not behaving as the Minister or hon. Members hoped, there would be, in executing their duties under the Bill, an explicit mechanism for the courts boards to make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor. Incidentally, that would also be for the benefit of Members of Parliament and others who may be able to apply pressure on the Lord Chancellor regarding how he exercised such duties. Amendment No. 115 is a fail-safe mechanism that would lock together the various bits of the Bill and give the courts boards an effective function.
Three other amendments in the group hang together. No. 112 is simply a drafting amendment. No. 113, however, is the operative one, which would allow the Lord Chancellor, through a properly debated order in the House, to extend the functions of the courts boards. Those bodies are too valuable for them not to be used. Debates in another place have established more precision about what the courts boards would do, but the Bill is still light on the functions that they may perform. I want to provide a clear mechanism through which the Lord Chancellor could consult and listen to people once the boards are operating and extend the functions to include management functions, making that explicit by order. Although the courts boards are not executive bodies, they should have a managerial role in the operation of the local courts. If that is to happen, the Lord Chancellor must give guidance, which is the purpose of amendment No. 114.