Everyone with an interest in promoting access to justice should come along to the launch of a new report commissioned by PCS, at the House of Commons, on 22 February.
An Alternative Vision for the Justice System was written by Professor Roger Seifert, professor of industrial relations at the University of Wolverhampton.
He will be joined at the launch by Richard Burgon, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, and Steve Gillan, POA general secretary, and Chris Baugh, PCS assistant general secretary, who will chair the meeting.
It will take place in committee room 5 in the House of Commons from 4-5.30pm on Wednesday, 22 February.
The report analyses the state of the justice system and has been developed in consultation with a range of sources including PCS activists from across the justice sector.
The report explores the following themes:
- The impact of austerity on justice – on staff working in the sector and for citizens in the system
- The case against private provision of justice and the need for a publicly funded and accountable system
- A detailed examination and critique of the impact of the government’s ideological agenda and the impact on the justice sector
- The impact of the introduction of fees and charging and the denial of access to justice to citizens
- An examination of prison privatisation.
50% cuts
With 50% cuts in the Ministry of Justice’s administrative expenditure planned, the majority of which will be realised through mass jobs cuts and estate closures, coming on top of the drastic cuts already experienced, the need for a major debate on the future viability of our justice system has never been timelier.
The government is insisting that there is a need to modernise the system, and that this will be largely reliant on a digital transformation. However, what they are actually doing is rolling back the years with outdated and discredited management regimes, and excluding the majority of citizens from affordable and accessible local justice.
The aim of launching our alternative vision report at this time is to progress the debate for a properly-funded, adequately-staffed justice system that is accessible and accountable to all, not just those that can afford to pay for it.
Join them at the House of Commons here: https://www.facebook.com/events/406744353009185/
