Union warns over court privatisation danger

The PCS public and commercial services union has warned that the Courts Bill, debated for the first time in parliament in early December, could lead to widespread privatisation of court services and pose a threat to the justice system.

The Bill allows for the contracting out of court work without the current safeguard that the Lord Chancellor has to first consult on the issue with senior judges and parliament.

The union points out that further contracting out of court services would fly in the face of the conclusions of the independent review of criminal courts by Sir Robin Auld which said that the use of contractors in court security duties had failed to provide an adequate service. The Auld review actually argued that the outsourcing already in place should be reversed.

While welcoming important parts of the new Bill, PCS national officer Frank Campbell said: "It would be entirely inappropriate for the sensitive work performed by the court service to be moved to the private sector. Justice cannot be governed by a profit motive."