TV licence and road tax offences to be dealt with out of court Introducing new projects to hear evidence via video-link, open courts at weekends and use digital files rather than paper, he said that a Lithuanian lorry driver caught drink-driving recently had his licence taken away just two hours after being charged. However some raised concerns over the cost of the proposals, at a time of widespread budget cuts. Richard Atkinson, chairman of the Law Society's criminal law committee, said: "We are concerned by the Government's obsession with speed and its apparent belief that speed and efficiency is one and the same thing. In particular, we question whether there is any need for weekend courts at a time when the numbers of criminal cases are declining and when these proposals will cause problems for prisons and the availability of other professionals in the system. Max Hill, QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, added: "We are particularly concerned about the increased presumption that cases will be run in the Magistrates" Courts based purely on the financial value of the case. This is a blunt instrument which may not properly reflect the severity of the offence, and demonstrates the Government's commitment to cheap justice. Meanwhile the supervision of offenders in London has been handed over to a private security for the first time. Serco and the London Probation Trust won the contract to run "community payback" schemes across the capital in a move intended to save £2m. The union Napo said it spelled "the end of probation" and would mean job cuts and more re-offending.