Responding to the investment in court modernisation announced today in the government’s ‘Plan for Jobs’ document, FDA National Officer for the Crown Prosecution Service Steven Littlewood said:

“Anyone who has been to a court and seen broken doors, threadbare carpets or sewage leaking from the ceiling will welcome this investment in our court estate.

“We are pleased that the government is listening to our concerns about the proper funding of justice.

“However, although this is a good start it will take more than a lick of paint to clear the backlog of 40,000 cases. We need more investment in both defence and prosecution to ensure that our system is properly resourced and delivers justice for the public.”

Notes for editors

1. The FDA is the union for senior managers and professionals in public service, representing more than 18,000 members at grades HEO and above. Membership includes senior civil servants, government policy advisors, prosecutors, diplomats, tax professionals, economists, solicitors and other professionals working across the Government and the NHS.

2. The FDA (formerly the First Division Association) should be referred to simply as “The FDA” and can be described as “the senior public servants’ union”.

3. The FDA can be found on Twitter @FDA_union and at www.fda.org.uk. General Secretary Dave Penman tweets as @FDAGenSec.

4. For more information contact:

FDA Communications Officer Tommy Newell on 07738 729 145 or tommy@fda.org.uk

FDA Communications Officer Scott Dobson on 07727 869 640 or scott@fda.org.uk

FDA Head of Communications Kay Hender on 07980 700 747 or kay@fda.org.uk