- Plans to deliver justice reform and enhance UK legal services
announced
- New expert panel to drive greater use of English law on
international stage
- Crime-cutting courts to be expanded with new site confirmed
for Liverpool
The panel will bring together the legal sector's key players to
future proof English law's eminent international status as part
of a drive to enhance UK economic growth.
The panel will spearhead efforts to help reinforce Britain's
position as a global leader in legal services. It will be
supported by new research to quantify the global commercial value
of English law and demonstrate its economic value.
The UK's legal services sector is already worth over £42.5
billion to the economy – helping to generate roughly £1,350 every
second. The sector also employs 384,000 people across the
country.
The Deputy Prime Minister also committed to the expansion of
Intensive Supervision Courts – a new crime-cutting initiative
based on a similar model used in Texas – that aims to tackle the
root causes of criminal behaviour and cut reoffending.
The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed that Liverpool will soon host
a second court of this kind focused on female offenders. This
will build on four existing courts: Liverpool's specialist drug
rehabilitation court, plus intensive supervision courts in
Birmingham, Bristol and Teesside, where over 200 offenders have
participated in the pilot.
The courts, supported by the Probation Service, oversee low-level
offenders with crimes linked to issues like addiction or trauma.
These individuals attend mandated treatment and regularly appear
before the same judge, who tracks their progress. Non-compliance
with the initiative can lead to sanctions, including time behind
bars.
An evaluation of the pilots found that participants with
addiction issues returned clean drug tests in approximately
two-thirds of cases and were sanctioned for non-compliance in
fewer than one in four cases.
These announcements follow a major effort to fix the crisis in
the justice system as part of the Plan for Change, so that
punishments cut crime and victims get swifter justice.
