Draft Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2016 Draft ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT 1999 (DESTINATION OF APPEALS) (FAMILY PROCEEDINGS) (AMENDMENT) ORDER 2016

Christina Rees Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2016 General Committees

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans. I thank the Minister for her presentation and explanation. Opposition Members will support these statutory instruments.

That support is strengthened by the fact that the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the president of the Queen’s bench division, the president of the family division and the Chancellor of the High Court have said they are content with the provisions of the statutory instruments, and their views were key in determining the content. Their views were especially important with regard to the exemptions to the draft Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) (Amendment) Order 2016, under which appeals against certain other types of order, such as special guardianship orders, will remain with the Court of Appeal. Further to that, appeals against any order made by a circuit judge or recorder in the family court in proceedings listed in paragraph 7.5 of the explanatory memorandum will continue to lie to the Court of Appeal.

I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify a few things. It is stated that implementation of both statutory instruments will reduce confusion in the process and decrease the workload on the Court of Appeal. Why did the appeal route originally go to the Court of Appeal in the parent Act as opposed to the High Court, as is now proposed?

There is huge pressure on the Court of Appeal and a need for action. In May this year, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson, stated that the volume of cases in the Court of Appeal has risen by 59% in the past five years, without any increase in judicial resources, causing a growing backlog and substantial delays. Because of the increase in cases brought to the Court of Appeal, the number of adjourned trials there increased by 75% last year. A freedom of information request made by the Law Society Gazette to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service revealed that of the 640 adjourned cases in the civil division of the Court of Appeal last year, 46% were adjourned due to a lack of judicial resources.

Paragraph 7.5 of the explanatory memorandum to the Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2016 states:

“Re-routing certain appeals to the High Court instead of the Court of Appeal may also lead to a reduction in the time taken for these appeals to be heard. By reducing the number of appeals to the Court of Appeal, this change may also benefit the flow of cases in that court, allowing for more effective and expeditious determinations of other appeals.”

Given the existing build-up in the Court of Appeal and the lack of judicial resources there, will the Minister clarify that moving these cases from the Court of Appeal to the High Court will not result in a build-up of cases in the High Court in future? Paragraph 7.8 states:

“The High Court has the capacity to absorb the extra appeals thus lowering waiting times.”

What evidence was that statement based on?

How will these changes fit into the wider review of the civil courts currently being undertaken by Lord Justice Briggs? As the Minister will be aware, Lord Justice Briggs touches on that in chapter 9 of his “Civil Courts Structure Review: Interim Report”, in which he says that one way to ease the substantial burden on the Court of Appeal would be to reroute appeals from the Court of Appeal to the High Court. That is what the statutory instruments propose.

Lord Justice Briggs, however, goes further, and states that that cannot be the only solution:

“Viewed at the highest level of generality, there are only four ways in which the overload of a civil court can be addressed, if an ever-increasing lengthening of its waiting times is to be avoided. They may be summarised as (1) increasing the court’s resources; (2) reducing the court’s workload; (3) improving the court’s efficiency; and (4) deliberately reducing the quantity or quality of the service.”

Will the Minister tell me where the changes proposed by today’s SIs fit into the wider issues highlighted by Lord Justice Briggs?

Paragraph 7.7 of the explanatory memorandum states:

“The proposed changes under the new Order will provide for better use of judicial resources and court staff time, as well as better justice for litigants, making it much easier for litigants to understand the correct route of appeal in each case, unless the judge orders otherwise.”

The changes will be put online, and leaflets will be made to inform the public and court staff, but will the Minister tell me whether any more will be done to ensure that the changes are effectively publicised, so that people are aware of the new route of appeal before they use it? Will court staff and the judiciary receive effective training about the changes, so that the transition to the new appeals procedure runs as smoothly as possible?

Finally, with the closure of court counters and reception desks throughout courts in England and Wales, what arrangements has the Ministry of Justice made to ensure that people are directed to the correct place when they arrive for appeal hearings? Organisations based in courts, such as Citizens Advice and the Personal Support Unit, do valuable work in helping litigants entering an often daunting environment, but that is no substitute for courts carrying out the function of directing people to the correct route of appeal and the correct court room. Will the Minister inform me whether there are any proposals to reintroduce court counters or reception desks? I am grateful to her for presenting the SIs so clearly, and I thank her and her team for all their good work.