The Making Justice Work programme brings together a range of reforms to the structure and processes of the courts, access to justice and tribunals and administrative justice. It has been developed and is being delivered with partners across the justice system, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Court Service, Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Police.
As one of the justice outcomes change programmes* , Making Justice Work (MJW) contributes to the delivery of National Outcome 16, 'Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs'. The programme contains five overarching projects, which cover both civil and criminal justice:
MJW Project 1: Delivering efficient and effective court structures - To create a cost effective, proportionate court structure in which cases and appeals are heard by the right court in both civil and criminal cases, reserving the use of the highest courts for the most serious and complex cases.
MJW Project 2: Improving procedures and case management - To improve the procedures of the justice system and to introduce active and effective management of cases, in order to minimise delays and adjournments to ensure the most costeffective use of precious court time.
MJW Project 3: Enabling access to justice - To develop mechanisms which will support and empower citizens to avoid or resolve informally disputes and problems wherever possible, and to ensure they have access to appropriate and proportionate advice, and to a full range of methods of dispute resolution, including courts and tribunals where necessary, and appropriate alternatives.
MJW Project 4: Co-ordinating IT and Management Information - To provide the strategic platform for the development of IT, data management and management information to ensure all justice organisations have access to the data and information that they need, with efficient administrative processes supported by appropriate technology.
MJW Project 5: Establishing a Scottish Tribunals Service - To establish an efficient and effective Scottish Tribunals Service by merging the administration of devolved tribunals and through the devolution of reserved tribunals to Scotland.
All five MJW projects are now up and running. You may have come across some of those that are being lead by partners across the justice system - for example: getting people to court; and the new summary system model.
National Outcome 16 can be achieved by delivery of benefits across the justice system. A benefits framework is being used to evaluate and track progress across the whole programme, to provide clarity to project managers as to where their own projects fit in, and identify gaps where we may need to initiate new work.
We are taking a co-ordinated system wide approach, integrating policy development (eg response to Civil Courts Review & Sheriff & Jury) with short term projects to save money, working with justice operational delivery partners and identifying, considering and tracking the delivery of benefits across the system
Key Personnel:
Bridget Campbell, Senior Responsible Owner (Director of Justice, Scottish Government)
Katy McNeil, Programme Manager (Scottish Government)
Programme Board including Chief Execs of SCS, SLAB, COPFS & STS, judicial advisers,
ACPOS and external challenge from Consumer Focus Scotland
Projects and workstreams being taken forward across the justice system with SCS,
COPFS, ACPOS and SLAB leading different aspects.
For more information contact:
Katy McNeil
Programme Manager - Making Justice Work
Justice Directorate
Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Edinburgh
EH13DG
katy.mcneil@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
0131 244 4253
* n.b. The other justice outcomes change programmes are Reducing Reoffending; Police and Fire Service Reform; Building Safer Communities and Reassuring the Public