Prosecutions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people engaging in the Single Justice Procedure are aware of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service guidance which states that courts should not issue targets for the number of Single Justice cases that must be completed.
Answered by Heidi Alexander
Courts have been reminded that no targets have been set for the number of cases to be completed in a session.
Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Local Judicial Business Groups decide how much work is assigned to court hearings, including Single Justice Procedure (SJP) sessions. If a magistrate does not complete the cases allocated to a SJP session, the cases can be picked up in a subsequent session.
The Government has listened to the concerns raised on SJP and as a first step has asked HM Courts and Tribunals to redesign the SJP Notice. We will also be calling in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we could ensure public interest is considered by them in advance of making prosecutions. The SJP is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it must operate fairly and effectively. We will not tolerate poor practice, and we will not hesitate to fundamentally reform the system if that is required.
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