Part 1Maintaining the court system
Courts boards
5Functions of courts boards
1
Each courts board is under a duty, in accordance with guidance under this section—
a
to scrutinise, review and make recommendations about the way in which the Lord Chancellor is discharging his general duty in relation to the courts with which the board is concerned, and
b
for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (a), to consider draft and final business plans relating to those courts.
2
In discharging his general duty in relation to the courts, the Lord Chancellor must give due consideration to recommendations made by the boards under subsection (1).
3
If the Lord Chancellor rejects a recommendation made by a courts board under subsection (1) as a result of the board’s consideration of a final business plan, he must give the board his written reasons for so doing.
4
The courts with which a courts board is concerned are—
a
the Crown Court,
b
county courts, and
c
magistrates' courts,
in the board’s area.
5
The Lord Chancellor must F1, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, prepare and issue the boards with guidance about how they should carry out their functions under subsection (1).
6
The guidance may in particular contain provisions about the procedures to be followed in connection with draft and final business plans.
7
The Lord Chancellor may F2, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, from time to time issue the boards with revised guidance and revoke previous guidance.
8
Guidance issued under this section must be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
F39
The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this section.