Policy background Community Sentences Problem-Solving Courts
In 2016 a Problem-Solving Court Working Group, established by the then Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, and the Lord Chief Justice, concluded that a new problem-solving court model that more closely resembles international best practice by incorporating a core set of elements should be tested here.
	Historically elements of a problem-solving approach have been trialed separately across England and Wales. For example: Liverpool Community Justice Centre, Family Drug and Alcohol Courts, and Greater Manchester’s female-focused approach.
	The Government has committed to piloting Problem-Solving Courts in up to five locations in a way that incorporates previously tried problem-solving approaches. Many of the elements needed to run a problem-solving court approach based on best practice already exist; for instance, the ability for the sentencer to order a detailed pre-sentence report and in some cases to review an individual’s progress during the sentence.
	Some legislative changes are necessary to ensure that the recommendations made by the 2016 Working Group can effectively be put into practice and to ensure that a thorough evaluation can take place:
giving the court a power to regularly review community and suspended sentence orders and to initiate breach proceedings at a review hearing;
expand the power to test for illicit substances outside the provisions of drug rehabilitation requirements; and
enable the court to impose short custodial penalties for non-compliance.
	The Act will enable the new measures to be implemented in certain courts, for offenders who meet the particular eligibility criteria. The policy intention is to conduct a limited initial pilot, but the legislative changes will allow for the potential to enable the pilot to be rolled out to further courts in the future, and also allow for the pilot measures to be made permanent after the end of the pilot period.
	The existing provisions will continue to operate in other courts and for offenders who are non-eligible for these measures.