Judges facing redundancy - Tories

The Conservatives said that HM Courts Service (HMCS) was facing a crisis after ministers ignored warnings from local authorities that they would not be able to afford a new fee structure for child protection cases.

The claims were strongly rejected by the Government, which insisted that the changes had been properly funded and would have no impact on the effective delivery of justice.

In a letter obtained by the Tories, the senior presiding judge, Lord Justice Leveson, warned there would be a £27 million shortfall in fee income in the current year, with further shortfalls of £46 million and £17 million in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

A memo from HMCS officials, quoted by the Conservatives, indicated that savings would have to come "from parts of the budget where we have control, such as salary costs, sitting days, building works and our change projects".

It also acknowledged that a redundancy scheme was "something we may have to consider for the future", adding that "no part of HMCS will be protected from having to find savings".

Shadow justice minister Henry Bellingham blamed the problems on the way that new rules requiring local authorities to repay courts for the full cost of child protection proceedings were introduced earlier this year.

In his letter on August 29, sent to all judges and magistrates, Lord Justice Leveson made clear that the changes were opposed by the judiciary. "The judiciary have not agreed with the policy of full cost recovery on civil and family work - it should not be thought that the judicial members of the (HMCS) board have changed their judicial position on this issue," he said.

The Tory claims were dismissed by Justice Minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who said that spending on the courts system had risen sharply under Labour. "There is no a black hole in Her Majesty's Courts Service budget. There will be no impact from efficiency savings on the service provided to victims and witnesses or to the effective delivery of justice," he said.

"As with any other Government department or agency, there is a duty to ensure taxpayers' money is spent efficiently, and Her Majesty's Courts Service is committed to ensuring this happens."