Transparency in the Justice System

Tuesday 6th September 2011 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)]

Open justice is a long-standing and fundamental principle of our legal system. Justice must be done and must be seen to be done if it is to command public confidence.

This Government are determined to open up the justice system and have ambitious plans to increase transparency at every stage to allow everyone to see what is happening and how the system works.

Central to achieving this objective is a plan to publish far more and better data on justice:

On 29 September 2011, my Department will publish statistics by region which show the efficiency of the courts and tribunals in progressing cases. This will include brand new statistics on the time from the date an offence is committed to the date the case is finally dealt with by the criminal courts, whether at a magistrates court or the Crown Court.

On 12 January 2012, this will be extended down to court level. These data will include the number and type of cases dealt with at each court or local justice area, how long cases take to complete, as well as how many criminal trials could not commence on the scheduled date and how many had to be abandoned. The data will also allow the public to see the number of civil hearings and trials dealt with at courts in their area, how long it takes these cases to progress, and in family courts how long it takes for care proceedings cases to complete.

On 27 October 2011 we will publish reoffending rates for every probation trust and prison in England and Wales, along with anonymised datasets showing whether individual proven offenders go on to reoffend for each local area.

On 24 November 2011, we will publish, alongside our regular quarterly criminal justice system statistics, anonymised datasets on each case sentenced. This will include the sentence given, the court, the age group, gender and ethnicity of those sentenced, and the time from when the offence was committed to when the case was complete.

From May 2012 onwards, the national crime mapping website, police.uk, will provide the public with information on what happens next for crimes committed in their streets, so they can see what action the police took and the outcome of any subsequent court case.

In addition to providing more data, I am determined to reform fundamentally the way the justice system operates so it is more open. The names of offenders who are unlawfully at large can be—and often are—published by police forces to help bring these people back to custody—where they should be. We are committed to removing all unnecessary barriers to the naming of these offenders and to promoting best practice and consistency across all police forces.

Today, I can also announce my intention to legislate, as soon as parliamentary time allows, to remove the ban on cameras in courts.

As a starting point, judgments in the Court of Appeal will be broadcast for the first time. I want to see this expanded to the Crown Court, but I will work closely with the Lord Chief Justice and Judiciary on how this could be achieved.

I will consult further on the detailed approach, but I am clear that this must not give offenders opportunities for theatrical public display. We will work to ensure this does not hinder the administration of justice and that it protects victims, witnesses, offenders and jurors.

Collectively, these plans will open the justice system in an unprecedented manner, allowing the public to judge for themselves how we are performing and to hold us to account.