Justice (MoJ)
Ministry of Justice: our vision
The justice system will punish the guilty, protect our liberties and the independence of the judiciary, and introduce a revolution in the rehabilitation of offenders.
Despite the ambition and determination of those working within the justice system, there is too much litigation, too many people reoffending and too much money spent on systems. By 2015, the Department will provide services in a completely different way.
Reform
Our programme of fundamental reform will result in a revolution in rehabilitation that will reduce reoffending. We will ensure that those who break the law are punished. But by helping offenders get off drugs, move into work, and manage mental illness we will see fewer of them slipping back into lives of crime. Prisons will be places where meaningful work and opportunities to reform are the expectation for prisoners, not a matter of choice. We will provide a clear sentencing framework. It will punish those who break the law, and help reduce reoffending.
Legal aid
We will provide a legal aid system that supports those at greatest risk, not those who are most litigious. We will develop better methods to settle more disputes without resorting to the courts and adversarial litigation. We will create a new relationship between the citizen and state that protects fundamental British values and the liberties that underpin our society - there will be better law.
Lastly, the Ministry of Justice will work very differently. There will be a functioning market in the provision of legal aid, offender management and rehabilitation. Our aim will be to ensure that justice services are provided by whoever can most effectively and efficiently meet public demand. We will not pay for good intentions, or for ticking procedural boxes, but by the results achieved.
Kenneth Clarke, Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice: our priorities
Introduce a rehabilitation revolution
Create a system introducing greater involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in the rehabilitation of offenders, including use of payment by results, to cut reoffending
Reform sentencing and penalties
Ensure that the justice system reduces reoffending by introducing more effective sentencing policies and considering the use of restorative justice for adult and youth crimes
Reform courts, tribunals and legal aid, and work with others to reform delivery of criminal justice
Reform the legal aid system to make it work more efficiently, while ensuring that we provide necessary support for those who need it most and for those cases that require it. Develop court reforms to improve the resolution of disputes, maximise efficiency and improve services, and work with others to make delivery of criminal justice more effective and efficient
Assure better law
Assure that law-making is transparent and accountable, safeguarding civil liberties and enabling citizens to receive the proper protection of the law
Reform how we deliver our services
Reform the way the Ministry of Justice works. Reassess our ways of working to develop more efficient shared services, match our provision ever more closely to demand, reduce duplication and streamline our functions wherever possible