Ministry of Justice

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The Ministry of Justice s one of the largest UK govt departments, employing over 75,000 people and is responsible for around 500 courts, over 120 prisons, as well as probation services, and offender attendance centres.

People

Funding Cuts

The MoJ's Permanent Secretary Richard Heaton, whose dept has been asked to cut its administrative spending by 50% over the course of the parliament, has told how it aimed to "achieve efficiency through contracts and use of contracting services".[1]

Executive Agencies

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

We deal with compensation claims from people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the victim of a violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales. We also run a compensation scheme for UK victims of overseas incidents that are recognised as terrorism by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme sets the criteria and amounts for compensation. We run the scheme throughout England and Wales, and in Scotland. link, Mar.2014

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Digital Courts
  • Jan.23.2019: Law courts in chaos as IT meltdown disrupts thousands of cases. Embarrassment for MoJ as network repeatedly crashes across England and Wales. The MoJ is investing £1.2bn in a high-profile programme promoting online hearings which aims to replace the legal profession’s traditional reliance on mountains of paperwork. Owen Bowcott, The Guardian.
  • May.09.2018: Courting disaster: Watchdog slams UK justice digitisation plans. Ambitions to slash court staff by 5,000 and chop physical cases held by 2.4m per year via digitisation are at "serious risk" of not being delivered on time, according to the National Audit Office. HMCTS hopes to save £265m by 2023 by cutting administrative and judicial staff costs, having fewer physical hearings and running a smaller estate. But the NAO found that delays in its key £280m Common Platform Programme risks hampering that. The programme intends to reduce demand on courts by moving activity out of courtrooms. For example, it will introduce online services and digital cases and expand the use of video technology in hearings. Part of that involves the Common Platform Programme (CPP), begun in 2014 with the intention of creating a unified platform across the criminal justice system to allow the Crown Prosecution Service and courts to more effectively manage cases. It was originally due to be completed in July 2018. Last year it opted to delay completion to June 2020 to stay within budget. Pubic Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier MP said: "The MoJ is seeking to modernise our justice system but needs to be clear about which of the promised benefits it will actually be able to deliver". Kat Hall, The Register.
  • May.09.2018: Delays and spiralling costs hamper MoJ's digital courts project. A £1bn modernisation programme of the UK’s justice system is facing a “daunting challenge” after falling behind schedule and overrunning costs, according to the National Audit Office. The NAO has found that the changes being rolled out by #HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), an agency of the Ministry of Justice, are behind schedule and facing funding gaps. Costs have already risen by £200m to £1.2bn. The justice secretary, David Gauke, recently appointed Tim Parker, a former boss of Kwik-Fit and the AA, as chair of its board. Penelope Gibbs, director of the organisation Transform Justice, said: “Its hard not to see the govt’s digital court reform programme as designed more in hope than expectation. No one denies the courts need to be more efficient but this programme seems over-ambitious and based on flawed assumptions.” Rajeev Syal, Owen Bowcott, The Guardian.
  • Mar.17.2018: Video evidence is taking over – and damaging the credibility of our courts. The technology has become widespread in the UK. But it is notoriously unreliable – and the testimonies can be misleading. I worry that the justice system is facing a broken future. Because now, instead of hearings physically taking place in courtrooms, we are moving towards a very detached virtual reality. Since 2010, over 220 magistrates, county and crown courts have closed across England and Wales, meaning more and more of us live far away from a courthouse and are encouraged to make pleas online or give evidence via a video link. (more... Anonymous, The Guardian.

Why is the courts service spending at least £30 million on management consultants? The reforms have not been subject to public consultation or scrutinised or approved by parliament. So we are spending millions of public money on reforms which have not been subject to democratic processes; spending money on reforms for which there is no overall published plan. And which may not be agreed by, or even put to, parliament. [2]
MoJ spending huge sums on consultants to help deliver digital courts. Few details of the scheme, which is being managed by the MoJ’s executive arm, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, have emerged. Critics express concerns, pointing to lack of detail about contracts as well as history of failure and delays in govt IT projects. £30m is being paid to management consultants PwC as part of a £1bn drive to modernise the courts and expand the types of hearings that can be conducted via computer. Another major contract worth £1.3m has been won by the consulting firm Methods, which subcontracts some of the work to the outsourcing company Accenture to provide “change management strategy” to help guide the judiciary through until 2022. Additional undisclosed sums have been paid to EY (formerly Ernst and Young). Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice and a former magistrate, questioned whether the scheme would improve access to justice. We don’t know what they are supposed to be delivering since there is no published plan for the digital court reform programme and the PWC contract isn’t published either. It is unclear how many cases can be transferred out of the courtroom and on to a laptop screen. Successive MoJ economy drives have led to the closure of about 250 courts across England and Wales since 2011. They have been justified partially on the grounds of falling crime rates and partially on the need to develop more flexible working practices. Civil cases that have been transferred online include applications for divorce, probate and small claims. Low-level offences such as fare evasion, traffic offences and fishing without a licence are among the first being dealt with online.[3]

HM Prison and Probation Service

HMPPS carries out sentences given by the courts, in custody and the community, and rehabilitate people in our care through education and employment. Through HM Prison Service: we manage public sector prisons and the contract for private prisons in England and Wales. Through the National Probation Service: we oversee probation delivery in England and Wales including through community rehabilitation companies.

HM Prison Service

We keep those sentenced to prison in custody, helping them lead law-abiding and useful lives, both while they are in prison and after they are released. HMPS is an executive agency, sponsored by the Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

  • Jun.27.2018: Private prisons are now a £multi billion industry – and one company is soaking it up. Outsourcing giant Serco has been handed a colossal £3.6 bn in govt contracts for private prisons and accompanying prison services. Private prisons have been around since the 1990s, following an outsourcing flurry by the govt under controversial Private Finance Initiatives (PFI). But the business has flourished in recent years, and turned into a £multi billion industry for security companies like Serco, G4S, Sodexo, and even the maligned Carillion. There are currently 14 private prisons in Britain, with another series of young offender institutions (YOIs) and youth security facilites. (stats). The govt admitted lin Jul.2017 that it would not make the promised £115m in savings from privatising prison services. Private prisons were also found to be rife in poor performance etc. Serco is under criminal investigation for allegedly overcharging the MoJ in an prisoner electronic monitoring contract. But that didn’t stop the govt from appointing Serco's former head of public affairs, Edward Argar, as the new junior justice minister earlier this month. Minister for Prisons, Rory Stewart, announced yesterday he would allow companies to bid for two new contracts. Labour’s shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon slammed the plans, accusing the govt of being “obsessed” with privatising and outsourcing prisons. Joana Ramiro, Left Foot Forward.
  • Sept.03.2018: Hundreds of prison officers sacked for smuggling contraband into jail, new figures reveal. The number of staff caught bringing various drugs, mobile phones and weapons into prison for inmates has risen 57 percent since 2012. Over the past six years, 341 prison officers have been dismissed, disciplined or forced to face judicial proceedings. Prison reform groups claimed staff cuts have left remaining officers unable to deal with widespread drug use and increasingly susceptible to corruption. Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: So many staff being taken out has led to prisons being unstable and dangerous". The Prison Officers Association has estimated the value of the drug market inside prisons at around £100m. Adam Forrest, The Independent.
  • Jun.27.2018: Prison minister calls for more money to build jails in England and Wales. Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was not enough will among the public and parliament to do what was necessary to reduce the prison population. Stewart said that when Kenneth Clarke was justice secretary he entered negotiations with the Treasury for support in reducing the prison population to 65,000. But Clarke was “let down” and did not get the political support He also revealed that collapsed outsourcing giant Carillion underbid for its contract to provide maintenance work to prisons by £15m a year. Last week Grayling faced a vote of no confidence in his capability to carry out his current role as transport secretary. In the same week he faced a damning report from the justice committee on the impact of his broadly criticised reforms to the probation sector. Jamie Grierson, The Guardian.
  • May.24.2018: Prisoners could help offset shortage of workers after Brexit, justice secretary says. David Gauke calls for 'cultural change' from employers to allow more prisoners to be released temporarily for work. A potential shortage of workers after Brexit could be offset by using prisoners in trades including construction and agriculture, he said. David Gauke said a feared skills gap should be seen as an “opportunity” by both inmates and employers. “By expanding the use of release on temporary licence (ROTL) for work, more prisoners will not only be able to get a foot through the door to sectors like these , but employers will be better able to fill short-term skills gaps whilst also developing potential permanent employees for the longer term. That in my eyes is a ‘win-win’.” A new organisation called the New Futures Network has been set up to generate job opportunities from local employers. Lizzie Dearden, The Independent.
  • Mar.19.2018: Stand-in prison officers rack up £7m hotel bills. Millions of pounds are being spent by the Ministry of Justice on hotels for prison officers drafted into jails at risk of disturbances because of staff shortages. A total of £7 million was spent over the past five years with almost £1 million more on rail fares for hundreds of officers. Under a scheme known as detached duty, prison officers can be sent from their home prison to other jails where there are too few staff on the wings, resulting in restricted regimes being imposed on inmates. Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “The government should hang its head in shame as from 2010 to today they have failed to address the real problem of staffing prisons safely. (more) The Times.
  • Nov.13.2011: Private sector prisons are an eye-watering scandal, union tells justice ministry. Privatisation is no longer based on efficiency – it's now ideological, says probation officers union. The Ministry of Justice has introduced competitive tendering for 5 jails as ministers seek to expand the role of the private sector. They claim that competition will result in more efficient services and a better deal for the taxpayer, but unions fear that it will result in widespread redundancies, poorer working conditions and reduced pensions for workers. Prison governors warn that expanding the private sector's role in the custodial system will create a profit-maximising culture that favours incarceration and cutbacks to rehabilitation. Internal documents seen by the Observer show that the in-house public sector teams seeking to run the first 5 prisons subjected to the new competition process were forced to increase the total cost of their bids by more than 21%. Unions claim the substantial "add-ons" rendered the public sector bids uncompetitive compared with those put forward by their private sector rivals. Currently in the UK, there are 13 private prisons holding 15% of the incarcerated population. "Prison privatisation is no longer based on efficiency, it's now ideological," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation union Napo. The Ministry of Justice argues the cost add-on to the in-house bid creates a "level playing field" that allows the private sector to compete. But an email from unions to Michael Spurr, chief executive officer at the National Offender Management Service [Noms], which runs the UK's prisons, contests the claim. William Simpson, of the Noms trade union, told Spurr the add-ons were "eye-watering" and branded them a "scandal". Spurr denied there was any bias in favour of the private sector. He said it was "appropriate" and "fair" that public sector bids should be compelled to increase the cost of their bids by 21% to "reflect the full cost of provision". Jamie Doward, The Guardian.
  • On Probation Blog, Michael Spurr, Rory Stewart, https://probationmatters.blogspot.com/2018/01/no-prison-reform-without-probation.html, Jan.2018
  • Michael Spurr: ‘Going to prison is the punishment’, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/dec/09/michael-spurr-national-offender-management-service-prisons-rehabilitation

ONE3ONE Solutions

The development of ONE3ONE Solutions as an integral part of HMPPS was aimed to bring together the delivery of Government policy on increasing work in prisons, liaising with commercial businesses, and the way we commission services for offenders. ONE3ONE Solutions is responsible for increasing work, but also for commissioning prisons to deliver that work and support them in delivery. There is a strong case for having busy active prisons where large numbers of prisoners work – it makes sense in terms of payback to society, helping support the UK economy, playing a part in reducing further costly offending and providing increased value to the taxpayer. ref

National Probation Service

Our priority is to protect the public by the effective rehabilitation of high risk offenders, by tackling the causes of offending and enabling offenders to turn their lives around.

See main article: National Probation Service in England and Wales

Legal Aid Agency

We provide civil and criminal legal aid and advice in England and Wales to help people deal with their legal problems.

Legal Aid

  • Jan.25.2018: High court challenge against legal aid cuts highlights growing risk of miscarriages of justice. The Law Society today issued proceedings against the Ministry of Justice to challenge a decision to implement further cuts to legal aid. Payments for paper-heavy crown court cases - where large amounts of evidence are served - have been slashed and the defence in complex trials has been hit by a substantial cut. This is on top of multiple pressures defence lawyers are already facing in their efforts to ensure justice is served. Law Society president Joe Egan said: "Their justification for this cut is that electronic and social media evidence is not always relevant to the complexity of the case. However, it was exactly this social media evidence that defence lawyers had to examine in order to secure the exoneration of Liam Allen." The govt implemented the cuts on Oct.24.2017. The Law Society.

Office of the Public Guardian

The OPG protects people in England and Wales who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, such as about their health and finance. We also help people plan ahead for someone to make certain important decisions for them, should they become unable to do so because they lack mental capacity.

Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) looks after the interests of children involved in family proceedings. It is independent of the courts and social services, but works under the rules of the Family Court and legislation to work with children and their families, and then advise the courts on what is considered to be in the best interests of individual children. ref

Criminal Cases Review Commission

The CCRC is set up to look at cases where people, who have already lost their appeal, still believe they have been wrongly convicted of a crime or wrongly sentenced. ... ref "Important information for..." (pdf)
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is an independent public body that reviews possible miscarriages of justice in the criminal courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and refers cases to the appeal courts.

Judicial Appointments Commission

The JAC is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. They select candidates for judicial office on merit through fair and open competition from the widest range of eligible candidates. ref

Legal Services Board

The Legal Services Board (LSB) ensures that regulation in the legal services sector is carried out in the public interest and that the interests of consumers are placed at the heart of the system. ref
We are the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. Our goal is to reform and modernise the legal services market place by putting the interestsof consumers at the heart of the system, reflecting the objectives of the statute that created us, the Legal Services Act 2007. ref

Parole Board

The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about prisoners to decide who may safely be released into the community on parole, as well as moving offenders to low or medium security prisons from a high security prison.
The Parole Board is an independent body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community. It manages the early release of prisoners serving fixed-length sentences of four years or more; the release of prisoners who are serving life sentences or indeterminate sentences for public protection; and the re-release of prisoners who have been given life or indeterminate sentences and were then re-imprisoned.
Some prisoners seeking release may have to attend a hearing before Parole Board members. Up to three members of a panel will decide whether to release the prisoner based on a file of documents including information on the inmate’s behaviour in prison, their plans once released and risk of committing further crimes. Medical, psychiatric and psychological evidence can also be heard.
As well as the prisoner, a solicitor, psychologist and witnesses could attend. The victim of the prisoner’s offences may also be present. The Parole Board has 234 members who make the assessments and decisions and employs 120 members of staff to support them. ref

  • Feb.03.2019: Crime victims get power to challenge prisoners’ release. Victims of serious crimes will be given the power to mount instant challenges to Parole Board decisions on the release of prisoners – under reforms following the case of John Worboys, the black-cab rapist. Justice secretary David Gauke will announce this week that victims who can produce strong grounds for a challenge will be able to apply within 21 days for the decisions to be looked at again. Under the new system any request for a review will be sent to a dedicated team at HM Prison and Probation Service, which will consider whether there were serious mistakes or legal flaws in the release ruling. The move forms part of wholesale changes to the Parole Board process to be published by ministers this week. Following the Worboys case, the controversial Rule 25 blanket ban on disclosing information about the board’s decisions has been lifted, allowing victims to learn the reasons for a prisoner’s release. Toby Helm, The Guardian.
  • Apr.27.2018: Nick Hardwick interview: ‘If you don’t like the heat…’ Professor Nick Hardwick, sacked chair of the Parole Board, has said Justice Secretary David Gauke got rid of him to save his own position following the controversy over the John Worboys affair. Prof Hardwick believes his axing from the Parole Board – an organisation he had already advocated needed to become more transparent before the Worboys case – was calculated realpolitik by the Justice Secretary, who had mounted no judicial review of the decision to release Worboys himself. ‘David Gauke didn’t think my position was untenable, he thought his position might be untenable,’ Prof Hardwick said. ‘David Gauke thought “I’m going to get hammered for this because I didn’t pursue the judicial review”. If we had challenged the victims’ standing, which we didn’t, but if we had, the judicial review would have fallen and Worboys would have been released. The fact the Secretary of State didn’t exercise the powers that only he had would rightly have led him to a lot of criticism.’ Hardeep Matharu, The Justice Gap.
  • Mar.28.2018: How Parole Board chair became a sacrificial lamb. Justice secretary David Gauke should have initiated reform of board instead of forcing Nick Hardwick out. Only weeks before, Gauke swore an oath to protect the independence of the judiciary. Yet he was prepared, egged on by the chairman of the Conservative Party, to consider launching a legal action himself to overturn the decision of the Parole Board. Alan Travis, The Guardian.
  • Mar.26.2018: Parole board chief warns of doctor risk. Doctors risk being hounded on social media if full details of parole hearings are made public, the chairman of the Parole Board Nick Hardwick (Nick HardwickWikipedia-W.svg) said. He also highlighted the threat of vigilante action against prisoners if too much information about their release were made public. Richard Ford, The Times.
  • Jan.23.2018: We believed he would be in jail for life’ The story behind John Worboys' imminent – and baffling – release. Parole Board hearings are held in private and reasons for release are not made public, although a consultation is to be launched on how the body shares its decision-making with the public. The Parole Board remains silent on the reasons for its decision. Sandra Laville, The Guardian.

Youth Justice Board for England and Wales

We are a non-departmental public body responsible for overseeing the youth justice system in England and Wales. Our primary function is to monitor the operation of the youth justice system and the provision of youth justice services. Within England and Wales we’re responsible for: ....

Advisory Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace

ACJPs in every local authority interview candidates and make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor about who to appoint to their local benches as Justices of the Peace (magistrates). http://www.direct.gov.uk/magistrates
Couldn't find this anywhere. Do a DDG search

Civil Justice Council

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is responsible for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system.
The CJC is an Advisory Public Body which was established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 with responsibility for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system.
We meet at least three times a year to discuss and agree formal responses to consultation papers. We provide advice to the Lord Chancellor, the Judiciary and Civil Procedure Rule Committee on the effectiveness of aspects of the civil justice system, and make recommendations to test, review or conduct research into specific areas. ref

Civil Procedure Rule Committee

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee was set up under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 to make rules of court for the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the County Court. The Civil Procedure Rules set out the practice and procedure to be followed.

Criminal Procedure Rule Committee

The Criminal Procedure Rules govern the way criminal cases are managed, and set out the processes of the criminal courts.

Family Justice Council

The Family Justice Council (FJC) helps to get better results for families in the court system, with input from 30 locally based FJCs around the country.

Family Procedure Rule Committee

The Family Procedure Rule Committee (FPRC) makes rules of court that govern the practice and procedure followed in family proceedings in the High Court and family court.

Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody

The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) helps to shape government policy on custody and detention by collecting, analysing and disseminating information on deaths in prisons, in or following police custody, immigration detention, or detention in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
The Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody is part of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody. ref

Insolvency Rules Committee

The Insolvency Rules Committee considers amendments to the rules arising out of a review of secondary insolvency legislation, giving their recommendations to the Lord Chancellor.

Law Commission

The Law Commission is a statutory independent body that keeps the law under review and recommends reform where it is needed. The aim of the Commission is to ensure that the law is fair, modern, simple and as cost-effective as possible.

Prison Service Pay Review Body

We give independent advice on pay for governors, operation managers, prison officers and support grades in the England and Wales Prison Service, and equivalent posts in Northern Ireland. The Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) is made up of a number of individuals who have senior-level experience of handling pay and other matters, both in the private and public sectors. The PSPRB also includes an economist member, a member with a Northern Ireland background and a member with a trade union background. ref

Sentencing Council for England and Wales

The Sentencing Council (SC) for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.

Tribunal Procedure Committee

The Tribunal Procedure Committee makes rules governing the practice and procedure in the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal. Our priorities are to keep the 9 sets of Tribunal Procedural Rules under constant review. We also consider new appeal rights and amendments brought about by other government departments and legislative change.

Other Bodies

Academy for Social Justice Commissioning

The Academy for Social Justice Commissioning identifies, supports and promotes excellence in social justice commissioning... The Academy was created in 2007, mission is to bring people together to share knowledge, skills and practice and to promote excellence in social justice commissioning.
By setting standards and raising commissioner capability, the academy aims to support the transformation of social justice services to deliver best value, improve effectiveness and increase public confidence in public services ref. Membership is free. Also offers an online commissioning course.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales is an independent inspectorate which reports on conditions for and treatment of those in prison, young offender institutions, secure training centres, immigration detention facilities, police and court custody suites, customs custody facilities and military detention. Its role is to provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of ‘healthy establishments’ in which staff work effectively to support prisoners and detainees to reduce reoffending and achieve positive outcomes for those detained and for the public. ref

HM Inspectorate of Probation

HM Inspectorate of Probation reports to the government on the effectiveness of work with adults, children and young people who have offended with an aim to reduce reoffending and protect the public.

Independent Monitoring Boards

Inside every prison, immigration removal centre and some short term holding facilities at airports, there is an Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) – a group of ordinary members of the public doing an extraordinary job. IMB members are independent, unpaid and work an average of 3-4 visits per month. Their role is to monitor the day-to-day life in their local prison or removal centre and ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained. ref

Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman

We investigate the handling of complaints about the judicial appointments process, and the handling of complaints involving judicial discipline or conduct. ref

Judicial Office

The Judicial Office supports the judiciary across the courts of England and Wales, and the non-devolved tribunals across the UK, by providing training, legal and policy advice, human resources, communications and administrative support.

The Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales is appointed by the Office for Legal Complaints to run an independent scheme that resolves complaints about lawyers in a fair and effective way, helping to drive improvements to legal services. It was set up by the Office for Legal Complaints (our Board) under the Legal Services Act 2007. Our job is to look at complaints about legal service providers and claims management companies in a fair and independent way: we will not take sides. Note we are unable to provide legal advice.
The Legal Services Act 2007 established the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) and stipulated that it must operate an ombudsman scheme. The OLC acts as the Legal Ombudsman's board. The OLC is responsible to both the #Legal Services Board and the Ministry of Justice. (WP)

Official Solicitor and Public Trustee

We help people who are vulnerable because of their lack of mental capacity or young age to take advantage of the services offered by the justice system. This helps them to avoid being socially excluded. We are the combined office of the Official Solicitor to the Senior Courts and the Public Trustee – 2 separate, independent statutory office holders. We give administrative and operational support to the Official Solicitor to the Senior Courts and to the Public Trustee, who have separate duties.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

The PPO is a public body in England and Wales, appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice to investigate complaints from prisoners and those subject to probation supervision, or those upon whom reports have been written. The organisation is also responsible for investigating all deaths of prisoners and residents of probation hostels and immigration detention accommodation. Originally the PPO had no jurisdiction over the investigation of deaths in prisons or probation hostels.

Victims' Commissioner

The role of the Victims’ Commissioner is to promote the interests of victims and witnesses, encourage good practice in their treatment, and regularly review the Code of Practice for Victims which sets out the services victims can expect to receive.

Timeline

Mar.2007Tony Blair announced a major Machinery of GovernmentWikipedia-W.svg change, affecting the DfCA and the Home Office. The Home Office would henceforth concentrate on counter-terrorism, policing, and asylum and immigration, and a new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) would be created to take on the responsibilities of the DfCA plus the criminal justice functions of the Home Office and its agencies — mainly the National Offender Management Service (which includes #HM Prison Service and the #Probation Service). The new MoJ would now have responsibility not only for constitutional matters, civil and administrative justice, the courts and legal aid, but also become the lead department for criminal justice policy and as such would 'house' the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, reporting to the Secretary of State for Justice, the Home Secretary and the Attorney General. It would be led by the Lord Chancellor as Secretary of State for Justice.[4]
May.2005The DfCA gained additional responsibilities for coroners and conduct of local government elections in England.
Jun.2003
Labour (Blair)
The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DfCA) was created. It was primarily responsible for reforms to the constitution, relations with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man and, within England and Wales, it was concerned with the administration of the Courts, legal aid, and the appointment of the judiciary. Other responsibilities included issues relating to human rights, data protection, and freedom of information.Department for Constitutional AffairsWikipedia-W.svg

Articles

  • Sept.06.2017: The modern era of Judge-led Reform. There has been some criticism that the judiciary is becoming too closely identified with the court modernisation programme. "There is a risk that in the future we will evaluate our judges on their ability to be effective managers rather than fearless independent judges who are independent of the executive." Andrew Langdon QC, Chair of the Bar, The Barrister.

References

  1. ^ Urgent review of £300m arrest warrant contract needed in wake of Carillion collapse, MPs demand. MPs on the HoC Justice Select Committee say the deal could put service delivery at risk, by potentially putting "all our eggs in one basket", with a single firm enforcing warrants across the country. Their call to review the process comes as the MoJ tries to reduce spending following years of deep cuts, with civil servants hoping the new deal can deliver £3m of annual savings. But the dept's outsourcing activity has repeatedly come under fire, with £millions wasted, and lucrative contracts handed to firms like G4S. Joe Watts, The Independent, Jan.21.2018.
  2. ^ Why is the courts service spending at least £30 million on management consultants? Transform Justice, Jan.01.2018
  3. ^ MoJ spending huge sums on consultants to help deliver digital courts. Guardian, Owen Bowcott, Jan.02.2018
  4. ^ The creation of the Ministry of Justice. HoC Constitutional Affairs Committee, Parliament.uk, Jul.26.2007.