Background Part 2: Courts and Justice Section 26: Payment of fines and other sums
40.In England and Wales the Lord Chancellor by virtue of section 36 of the Courts Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) may appoint fines officers for the purpose of managing the collection and enforcement of court fines. Fines officers play a crucial role in the operation of the fine collection scheme detailed in Schedule 5 to the 2003 Act. For example, the role of a fines officer includes chasing payment via texts or letters, and issuing notification to the Department for Work and Pensions for benefit deductions in the event of non-payment of a court fine in certain cases.
41.In 2008 HMCTS launched the Criminal Compliance and Enforcement Blueprint. The fundamental principle of this strategy was to ensure criminal financial penalties imposed by the court were complied with earlier and reduce the use of costly enforcement actions such as issuing a warrant of distress. The costs of collection incurred by HMCTS while attempting the recovery of financial penalties are currently funded via the public purse.
42.To support the implementation of the above strategy and increase the incentive for early compliance, section 26 of the Act will enable the imposition and recovery of a charge imposed on offenders for the costs of collecting or pursuing financial penalties and clarifies the role of the fines officer.