Court Charges (Access to Justice)

Keir Starmer Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Westminster Hall

[Tulip Siddiq]

Absolutely. I secured the debate because I am worried about access to justice for people from poor socioeconomic backgrounds. I will touch on that later.

The court charges were introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. They have had a dramatic impact on the number of cases going to court. I am particularly worried about tribunal numbers, which have plummeted, and the number of discrimination and unfair dismissal cases, which seems to be going down. I am concerned that the charges are in effect an attack on the most vulnerable in our society. I say the most vulnerable, because statistics show that sex discrimination cases brought by women have gone down by 80%. Similarly, if we compare the first few months of 2014 with the same period in 2013, the number of race discrimination cases has gone down by 60%.

Access to the court system is not, as the Government have put it, part of the welfare state. I prefer to agree with the Law Society, which said that the court system should be seen as

“part of the…rights and duties that give…resilience”

to the society that we live in. I do not doubt that our centuries-old court system needs some reform, but we need to think carefully before proposing those reforms. The Government would do well to remember their responsibility to enable every citizen to be treated equally before the law, whether they are a defendant, a victim or another party.

It is important to consider the effect that the criminal courts charge is having on poor defendants, as my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) mentioned. Despite the lack of quantitative data at my disposal, a lot of anecdotal evidence has been brought to light, especially by organisations such as the Howard League, revealing that this charge is not only intolerable in its consequences but will in no way recover the money that the Government talk about.

[Keir Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras) (Lab)]

In the light of the failure to consult before the criminal charge scheme was introduced; the clear concerns of judges, magistrates and the whole legal profession; and the likelihood that this will add to the problem, rather than solve it, does my hon. Friend agree that this scheme should be reviewed this autumn, as the Howard League argues, rather than in three years?

[Tulip Siddiq]

I absolutely agree with my hon. and learned Friend, who has a lot of experience in this field. That is something I raised with the Justice Secretary when I asked him in the Chamber a few weeks ago why this absurd policy had been signed off in the first place, and he said that it was under review. We should not wait three years, while the reform has dramatic effects on the most vulnerable in our society. We should move the review forward; if the scheme is under review, that should be done immediately, and we should not procrastinate.

Let me highlight what I find most concerning about this charge and what has struck me. This charge will put pressure on people to plead guilty because they are worried about financial costs. If someone pleads guilty early on, they are less likely to incur costs than if they say and then maintain that they are innocent, and are found guilty later down the line. That will inevitably put pressure on people to plead guilty. I want to read out some of the figures, to hammer this home. The charge rises from £150 for a guilty plea for a summary offence in a magistrates court to £520 for a conviction after a not-guilty plea. The charge at Crown court is £900 for a guilty plea and £1,200 for a conviction after a not-guilty plea. Think about the constituents who live on the estates of Hampstead and Kilburn, the constituency I am so proud to represent in this House. They would not be able to afford those fines.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tulip Siddiq]

Absolutely. If we look at the money we have managed to claw back, it shows why this policy should be scrapped. It should not take three years to review it, because we have the evidence, as my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) said.

I rarely agree with Conservative Members of the House, but I agree with the Chair of the Select Committee on Justice, the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), who said on Radio 4 that the charge

“does seem to be distorting the way in which people behave in court…defendants might plead guilty to save the cost of the charge when otherwise they would not have done”.

That is from a member of the Conservative party. I could not agree more with him.

In 21st-century Britain, we should be appalled by the miscarriage of justice, especially when defendants are foregoing their freedom due to financial constraints. To pick up on a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen, in some magistrates courts about 80% of defendants are dependent on state support to meet basic living costs, which makes this issue even more pressing. The charge means that poorer defendants are likely to make a different decision from the one they would have ordinarily made. That means we risk their voice being at best constrained, and at worst shut out from our justice system.

[Keir Starmer]

Does my hon. Friend agree that this cuts across the principle we have had in our criminal justice system for many years of being willing to reduce a sentence for an early guilty plea, because we are setting our face against increasing the consequences for not pleading guilty?

[Tulip Siddiq]

Again, I draw on my hon. and learned Friend’s experience in the legal world. I absolutely agree with him, and I hope the Government will listen to his interventions today, because I do not think anyone could be better equipped to help the Government at this point than him.

What is even more frustrating is that we are unable to place a specific figure on the increase in the proportion of guilty pleas at first hearing at the magistrates court. Until recently, quarterly criminal court statistics routinely included that figure. While the Government may be reticent about taking on board demands for revision, they must strive to make those figures available so that the extent of the recent phenomenon can be made public. I urge the Minister to be transparent about the impact this reform is having.

My hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David) mentioned that 50 magistrates have resigned since the implementation of this policy. Let us listen to the experts and judge them by their actions. The Magistrates Association claimed in written evidence to the Justice Committee that

“the lack of judicial discretion means that the charge…is not in accordance with the principles of justice.”

My second concern is that the charge is producing fines that are disproportionate to the minor offences for which defendants are often charged. For generations, magistrates imposed financial penalties in accordance with how severe the crime was and the defendant’s ability to pay, which my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Christina Rees) mentioned. The mandatory charge can account for 50% or more of the total, placing enormous anxiety and stress on individuals who sometimes have been driven, in despair, to commit crimes. I am not saying we should not punish criminals, but the importance of judicial discretion cannot be underestimated.

I would like to give one example from Highbury Corner magistrates court, where a lot of Hampstead and Kilburn’s constituents are tried. The defendant in question had no savings, no income and a drug addiction. He was put in the docks of Highbury for stealing a couple of steaks and 70p lollipops. He was told he should plead guilty, because the charge would be £150, whereas if he was found guilty further down the line, it would rise to £1,000. Of course, he pled guilty. The reporters at the case wrote that he sat there with “sunken cheekbones”, his shirt falling off his back, and he knew that he would in no way be able to pay the court fees imposed on him. The charge was £150, with a £65 victim surcharge and further costs of £85, which came to £295 for a man who the judge said needed 12 months of rehabilitation and community service. There is no way he will be able to pay that back. Is this a system that works for people? Should we not be looking at these vulnerable people who cannot afford to pay the fees we are imposing on them? Is this the future we want for our criminal justice system? It is surely time the Government realised that this policy is not fit for purpose and needs to be reviewed.

I want to ask the Minister a few questions. First, we have been told that the Government are listening, which is a good sign, but can we ensure the review is brought forward? May I have an answer to my original question to the Justice Secretary: how did this absurd policy get signed off in the first place? Secondly, in the medium term, will the Government disaggregate the statistics that are due in December, so that we can see exactly how little is being paid back and how much the policy is costing taxpayers in administrative costs?

A lot of Members in this House and in this Chamber today came into politics because they believed in the values of equality, fairness and social justice. If we carry on in this way, we will create a legal system in which people with money will have access to justice and those without will be shut out. That is not the kind of society we want to live in; we want to live in a society that has equal access to justice, and we need to be very careful, because we are in danger of hitting the most vulnerable people in our society with the legal reforms that are being proposed. I ask the Minister to respond to my questions, and I urge him, once again, to listen to all the Opposition Members who have made points.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for intervening; she gives me the opportunity to explain an important issue. The criminal courts charge is payable only after, first, the compensation has been paid; secondly, the victim surcharge has been paid; thirdly, the prosecution costs have been paid; and, fourthly, fines have been paid. A judge imposes those, and only when all four have been paid does the criminal courts charge come along; and, although set at a specific rate, it is nevertheless assessed by the court’s officers on the basis of ability to pay. That means that the other debts, income and all other such financial factors are taken into account; and then, based on what the officer feels is an acceptable way for the charge to be paid, the money is paid, after the other four impositions have been dealt with. I might add that if an individual has made all reasonable efforts to make the payment and they have not reoffended, then after two years whatever is left is scrapped.

[Keir Starmer]

Does the Minister agree that it is highly unusual for a number of magistrates to resign over an issue such as this? When they do so, what is the level of concern in the Department, ranked between one and 10?

[Mr Vara]

We have some 20,000 magistrates. At any given point, there are always some who are resigning. It is regrettable that some have felt it necessary to resign on that basis, but I will say that magistrates do hugely beneficial work. It is an important role in society and they give up valuable time of their own to do a good service. Of course, it would be wrong for me to comment on individual circumstances, but it is regrettable that some have felt it necessary to resign on that basis.

[Mr Vara]

It is not yet known how much has been recovered, because those statistics will be forthcoming in the December quarterly statistics. Just to explain, they were not in the September quarterly publication because, although initial data from the first three months of operation—the change having taken place in April—were included in the regular September quarterly statistics, it was not possible to provide separate figures on the charge in time for that publication which met the data quality standards required for published management information. Detailed figures will, however, be published on 17 December.

I note the comments made about the effects on the offender’s plea decision and the issue of access to justice. The Government are committed to ensuring a fair and effective criminal justice system that is accessible to all, and we are assured in the knowledge that the coalition Government carefully considered the compatibility of the criminal courts charge provisions with the European convention on human rights, on article 6 “access to the court” grounds. Article 6 of the European convention on human rights has an implicit right of access to the courts, and the charge does not interfere with that right in any way. In particular, it should be remembered that the charge is imposed at the end of proceedings. Defendants facing trial are not required to pay the criminal courts charge and the charge is not a condition of an offender being able to access the courts. A person will be subject to the charge only if convicted following a court hearing that will have taken into consideration all the available evidence. Therefore, those who are innocent and should be found not guilty by the courts will not be required to pay the charge.

We should also remember that our justice system already creates a number of incentives for those who enter early guilty pleas to ensure that the wheels of justice run more smoothly. For example, if defendants who are guilty enter a guilty plea as early as possible, the courts recognise the benefit to victims, witnesses and the criminal justice system as a whole by means of a reduction in sentence. I recognise, however, the need to ensure that any incentives are proportionate and I note the concerns expressed about the matter.

[Keir Starmer]

I spent many years working on proposals for early guilty pleas and I support them, but the underlying principle was always that the sentence or consequences were reduced for an early guilty plea, not increased for not pleading guilty. Does the charge not offend that principle, and was the Sentencing Council consulted before the charge was brought forth?

[Mr Vara]

I am not sure I follow what the hon. and learned Gentleman is saying. It seems pretty straightforward that at the moment we have a system whereby if somebody pleads guilty, it assists the criminal justice system, the witnesses, the victim and so on, and proper due regard is taken of that. In this instance, if a person pleads guilty, due regard is taken, but they should not plead guilty if they are not guilty. They should allow the court process to take its course.

[Keir Starmer]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Vara]

I will happily give way, but I hope the hon. and learned Gentleman is mindful that this is a time- limited debate and I will have less time to respond.

[Keir Starmer]

I will be brief, and I accept that the debate is time limited. The point I am making—it is a point of principle—is that the courts have always fixed the penalty and then reduced it for an early guilty plea. The penalty has never gone up because someone did not plead guilty in the first place. That is the fundamental principle that is being offended.

[Mr Vara]

The charge is not part of the sentencing process, and that has been made abundantly clear to magistrates and the judiciary. It is a contribution to court costs and is not intended to be taken into account for sentencing purposes. There has been confusion, and I want to put on the record the fact that it is not intended to be a means of sentencing.

Given the financial imperative to bring down public spending, the Government must ensure that the courts are adequately funded in the long term in a way that allows the budgetary challenges ahead to be met. There is a high level of consensus across the justice system that the current system is unsustainable.