Mr. Richard Fallon:

With any new legislation that has gone through the rigours of the Houses and been enacted, there can be lacunae and in this instance we responded by setting up the high-level working group. This is an example of closer co-operation with the Courts Service and those on the front line of the courts system to resolve issues. At a broader strategic level we are establishing a family justice oversight group under a deputy Secretary General in the Department to look at reform in the family courts and the scheme of a new family law Bill. This will include the Hammond Lane development. In the past there would have been a traditional sense of the independence of the court and the role of the Department. The capability review points up, in keeping with new governance practices, that the strategic objectives of the Department-----