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Mr. Newton: These are matters of great debate and concern among a wide range of people. Such issues are normally dealt with on a free vote in the House. I shall ensure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health looks carefully at what the hon. Gentleman has said.
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Questions to the Prime Minister
5.41 pm
Mr. David Shaw (Dover): On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Earlier today, during Prime Minister's Question Time, a number of lengthy questions were asked. I was going to raise the issue of the closure of St. Margaret's fire station by the over-extended Kent county council, but I was unable to do so. Mine was Question 4. Many of the questions asked by Opposition Members had clearly been written by those at Walworth road, and were far too long: they could not get the lines out in time. Could the possibility of a system involving shorter questions at Prime Minister's Question Time be investigated?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Janet Fookes): The hon. Gentleman must leave that in the hands of the Chair.
Orders of the Day
Civil Procedure Bill [Lords]
Order for Second Reading read.
5.42 pm
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Gary Streeter): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.
The British legal system has a history of which we can and should be proud. British justice is renowned the world over. Fundamental to its success has been the ability of our legal system to adapt to changing requirements. It has evolved over many centuries, responding to new problems, new situations and new challenges. The civil justice reforms on which the Government are now embarking represent a further step in that evolutionary process. We are responding to the challenges thrown up by modern society; more than that, we are laying the foundations for the system of justice that will enable it to meet the challenges of the future.
In 1994, the Lord Chancellor commissioned Lord Woolf to conduct an inquiry into the rules and procedures of the civil courts. The Government recognised that fundamental changes were required to combat the persistent problems of procedural complexity, undue delays and high costs in our courts. In July last year, Lord Woolf presented his final report, offering a body of recommendations designed to meet the continual challenge of access to justice. Those recommendations form the basis of the Government's reform package.
The reforms of the civil justice system go hand in hand with our reforms of the legal aid system. These reforms will enable us to get better control over legal aid spending, and to target resources more effectively on those who need them most. With the reforms, we shall be able to make limited resources stretch further, and enable more people to get help with their legal problems.
The central messages underlying the reforms launched by the Bill are that civil litigation must become faster, cheaper and simpler. By "faster", we mean that it is our aim that, once cases enter the litigation process, they should proceed along managed tracks to specified deadlines that are adhered to by all parties. We also mean that procedures should be in place to ensure that the real issues of a case are brought out into the open from the outset. By "cheaper", we mean that the cost of litigation, both to individual litigants and to the public generally, must be reduced. It cannot be right that--as is true of too many cases in our system--the costs of taking or pursuing an action exceed the award made. Procedures must be proportionate to the claim.
By "simpler", we mean that litigants should be in a position to know in advance how much a court case is likely to cost and how long it is likely to take. That must be supported by effective sanctions to ensure that the timetables and cost limits are met in all but the most exceptional cases. The civil justice system and all those involved in it must respond to the needs of litigants, not the other way around.
The Bill represents the opening shot in our war against delay, excessive costs and bureaucracy in the civil justice system. It provides the framework to ensure that litigation is streamlined, efficient and properly focused on the needs of litigants.
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The key to the reforms is the emphasis placed on the court's proper role in encouraging fair settlement, efficient case management of contested cases and a greater sense of proportion in the resources involved in the litigation process. Judicial case management will empower the courts to take greater responsibility for each case in the system. Courts will have more power to make decisions on how cases should proceed, to flush out the central issues at an early stage, to encourage settlement and to minimise costly and time-wasting delay. Case management will be supported by well-defined litigation "tracks" that will ensure that the appropriate level of court control is used to manage cases, and in the fast track by a new fixed-costs regime that will reward efficiency.
In addition, it is proposed that protocols will be developed to promote good practice among litigants and their advisers both before and during the litigation process. Coupled with the greater emphasis on alternative dispute resolution, it is intended to foster an atmosphere in which litigation is truly seen as the last resort.
To support these proposals, and to ensure that the civil justice system is truly accessible, it is our aim that procedures should be simple and easily comprehensible. The new procedures introduced under the reforms must be easily understood by all. Just as important, the new rules of court must facilitate such understanding. There has been a great measure of support for the simpler approach adopted in the new-look rules which accompanied Lord Woolf's final report. They have been drafted in clear English with a view to being comprehensible to a wider audience, not just to qualified lawyers.
The reforms represent a challenging task for the courts. The judiciary, and the court staff who support them, will have to learn new techniques; they will have to adopt a far more proactive approach, and take far more responsibility for ensuring that cases progress as quickly and as efficiently as possible. To support this new role, a comprehensive training programme for the judiciary is being embarked on. New computer systems are also being developed to ensure that technical support is available. We will ensure that the resources necessary to achieve those aims will be in place.
However, the reforms do not just represent a challenge to the judiciary or the courts. They demand at least as great a change in the current practices of the legal professions. If lawyers are to meet the demands of the courts, they must ensure that their practices are capable of delivering the goods. The reforms envisage efficient, proactive and flexible lawyers, making the most of modern technology. As Lord Woolf recognised, his recommendations require a change in culture among all the players in the system.
I am encouraged by the response of many lawyers, solicitors and barristers alike, to the challenges with which we have presented them. Many firms are now setting in place new systems to enable them to plan their cases effectively, to allow them to budget properly and to ensure that they are in full control of their case loads. The professions as a whole must follow suit if they are to ensure that they can meet the expectations of their clients in the new litigation landscape.
Lord Woolf was assisted by a group of dedicated assessors, by the participation of a wide variety of organisations in various working groups and by the
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The Lord Chancellor set out his plans for the implementation of the civil justice reforms in his strategy document "The Way Forward", which was published last October. It makes clear his commitment to the reforms and sets October 1998 as the target date for implementation of their central elements. The key changes that will be in place by October 1998 are the introduction of the fast track and the multi-track.
Mr. Alex Carlile (Montgomery):
In the context of what he has been saying, will the Minister give an assurance that the Lord Chancellor's Department will ensure that the court staff who are needed to deal with the extra work that will go through county court offices will be employed, so that we will not face delays caused by staff shortages in those offices? They are very short-staffed in some regions.
Mr. Streeter:
It is certainly our intention to resource the alterations to the system properly. We will ensure that people are adequately trained, that the most modern and appropriate technology is in place, and of course that the appropriate number of staff are available to ensure that this system, which is all about speed and minimising delay, works effectively and properly--so I think that was a yes.
Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East):
I will refrain from making any political point about who will need to implement the Bill after the election, but the Minister is being somewhat disingenuous. The explanatory and financial memorandum states:
"The costs of establishing and maintaining the Civil Justice Council are expected to be about £250,000 per annum and will be met from within existing provision. The Bill is not expected to have any other significant financial implications."
That may be narrowly and technically true, but it is not true in the wider context of the report.
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