MP concerned over LIBRA delays
South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon has expressed concern over the effect that delays in implementing the LIBRA IT system is having on the imposition and collection of fines and penalties by magistrates courts.
The system is expected to go on-line in 2007, but a new report by the National Audit Office has found that courts have been recommended not to use the full range of powers at their disposal until LIBRA is up and running.
Mr Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, said today: “By the time it is introduced, Libra – the new IT system for Magistrates’ Courts – will be almost a decade late. The three IT systems currently in use are virtually obsolete and Libra has swallowed up funding for upgrades, meaning courts must struggle on, plugging holes in the system with extensive manual work”.
Mr Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, said today: “By the time it is introduced, Libra – the new IT system for Magistrates’ Courts – will be almost a decade late. The three IT systems currently in use are virtually obsolete and Libra has swallowed up funding for upgrades, meaning courts must struggle on, plugging holes in the system with extensive manual work”.
“It defies belief that magistrates have been recommended to wait for Libra to be delivered before using the full use of the fines and sanctions the Courts Act 2003 placed at their disposal. The delivery of the Libra system should make the imposition and collection of fines much easier and the Department for Constitutional Affairs needs to pull its finger out and deliver Libra as soon as possible”.
26 May 2006
NAO REPORT: Fines Collection| Printable Version | Back to Parliament |
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