Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Question 5745 on Ministry of Justice: Communication, if he will publish the (a) policies, (b) procedures and (c) service standards for (i) his Department, (ii) HM Courts and Tribunals Service and (iii) the Judicial Office; and if he will publish provide contact details for raising concerns over compliance with each.
Answered by Mike Freer
There are a number of polices, procedures and service standards for communication that are used across the Ministry of Justice and the agencies within it which can differ due to the broad range of work and activities undertaken across the department.
Within HM Courts & Tribunals Service if any user wants to provide feedback or raise a complaint about the service HMCTS provides, there is a formal procedure in which to do so that is published on the HMCTS section on Gov.uk: Complaints procedure - HM Courts & Tribunals Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The complaints procedure is three staged and allows for a review and appeal if a user is not satisfied with the initial response received. There is also the option to ask the Member of Parliament for the user’s constituency to refer the case to the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman if the user remains unsatisfied following exhausting all stages of the HMCTS complaints process.
Any matter relating to Judicial Office policies, procedures or service standards would be for that organisation and not for Government. The Judicial Office supports the judiciary of England and Wales and is independent from the machinery which supports Ministers. Its officials are accountable to the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Question 5765 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Standards, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that (a) HMCTS personnel are aware that complaints and feedback can be provided in person at HMCTS premises, (b) a remedy is provided to people who have been misinformed of this right by officials, and (c) HMCTS personnel facilitate in person complains and feedback at HMCTS premises.
Answered by Mike Freer
HMCTS personnel follow the complaints procedure which is published on Gov.UK: Complaints procedure - HM Courts & Tribunals Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Complaints and feedback can be provided in person at HMCTS premises. Where a user of HMCTS services is not satisfied, they can speak to a member of staff and a record will be made on HMCTS complaints handling system OPTIC.
HMCTS will not be able to identify people who have been misinformed of the option to raise a complaint in person. However, if it is clear when handling complaints or feedback that someone has been refused the opportunity to provide it in person, without a valid reason, they will be given an apology. Where possible HMCTS personnel will take down in person complaints and feedback at HMCTS premises – which will then be followed by a response in writing.
There will be some instances where it’s not possible to take feedback in person. This is where officials believe that the person giving the feedback is a risk to staff or other court users, is being deliberately disruptive or is using the opportunity to revisit complaints that have already been answered through the administrative complaints process. In those instances, other communication channels will still be open to them to use.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has provided recent guidance to officials in (a) his Department and (b) arms-length bodies for which his Department is responsible on potential (i) regulatory, (ii) civil and (iii) criminal liability they may face in connection with failing to adhere to (A) the Civil Service Code, (B) Annex 4.14 (Remedy) of Managing Public Money and (C) complaints procedures published by his Department or its arms-length bodies.
Answered by Mike Freer
All Civil Servants are bound by the Civil Service Code. This standard, and other standards of behaviour and conduct expected from employees are set out in the Conduct policy. A failure to adhere to the required standard of conduct would be handled under the Disciplinary policy. Arm’s-length bodies staffed by public servants have appropriate conduct policies in place. The relevant policies are accessible to staff, including through departmental and organisational intranets. The department’s internal delegations confirm that all expenditure must be in accordance with HMT’s Managing Public Money.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has provided recent guidance to officials in (a) his Department and (b) other arms length bodies for which his Department is responsible on (i) regulatory, (ii) civil and (iii) criminal liability they may face for any failure to provide redress in accordance with the guidance entitled Remedy set out in annex 4.14 to Managing Public Money published on 4 May 2023.
Answered by Mike Freer
All Civil Servants are bound by the Civil Service Code. This standard, and other standards of behaviour and conduct expected from employees are set out in the Conduct policy. A failure to adhere to the required standard of conduct would be handled under the Disciplinary policy. Arm’s-length bodies staffed by public servants have appropriate conduct policies in place. The relevant policies are accessible to staff, including through departmental and organisational intranets. The department’s internal delegations confirm that all expenditure must be in accordance with HMT’s Managing Public Money.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what processes are in place for (a) his Department and (b) the HM Courts and Tribunals Service to obtain legal (i) advice and (ii) representation from the Government Legal Department (GLD); on what financial terms legal services are provided; what remuneration rates are paid by his Department to the GLD; who within his Department is responsible for overseeing the relationship between his Department and the GLD; and what processes are in place to ensure communications between his Department and the GLD are detailed and well-informed.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Ministry of Justice Legal Advisers team advises The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Services. It also provides specialist employment and commercial law advice to The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Services. Representation is provided through GLD Employment and Commercial Law Groups with all other representation being provided through GLD Litigation Group. MoJ Advisory services are provided through the yearly fixed fee, which for 2023/24 was £11.38m which included charges for advisory, employment and commercial services. Litigation services are charged on hourly rate basis as follows –
Description | 2023-24 Rate |
Head of Division/Director (SCS PB2) | £185 |
Deputy Director (SCS PB1) | £141 |
Senior Lawyer (Grade 6) | £132 |
Lawyer (Grade 7) & Junior Lawyer (Legal Officer) | £114 |
SEO, HEO | £90 |
Legal Trainee, EO, AO | £80 |
The Director General for Performance, Strategy and Analysis is responsible for the relationship and that there is regular communication between GLD teams and MoJ and HMCTS at all levels, with the Legal Director being part of The Ministry of Justice Executive Committee.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) complaints and (b) other feedback can be provided to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff within HMCTS buildings; and what steps (i) operations, cluster and group managers in courts and (ii) senior officials in HMCTS take to ensure feedback processes are fit for purpose.
Answered by Mike Freer
Both (a) complaints and (b) other feedback can be provided directly to HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff within HMCTS buildings. In instances where feedback cannot be provided in person, HMCTS also accepts complaints and feedback, in writing (by email and letter), over the phone or online via the HMCTS gov.uk website.
(i) Local managers in courts are regularly involved in responding to complaints across all communication channels. There is guidance available to all staff to set out how complaints and feedback can be received. (ii) Feedback processes are considered as part of the overall user experience that senior officials routinely review.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's (a) policies, (b) procedures and (c) service standards are for officials in (i) his Department, (ii) the HM Courts and Tribunals Service and (iii) the Judicial Office on ensuring the timeliness and effectiveness of communications to (A) Ministers in his Department and (B) judges; what records are kept of receipt of such communications; whether (1) triggers and (2) alerts are in place if communications are not provided within agreed service standards; and who has responsibility for dealing with concerns relating to any such communications.
Answered by Mike Freer
There are a number of polices, procedures and service standards across MoJ and its agencies including HM Courts & Tribunals Service that ensure the effective communication between the relevant area of the MoJ, Ministers and Judges. This includes different polices or procedure depending on the type of communication. In HMCTS, OPTIC is used as a complaints management system to handle correspondence, including ministerial correspondence which includes triggers and alters that ensure service standards are maintained.
Judicial Office is independent and has its own policies, procedures and service standards for communications that likewise ensure effective communication between departments and to ministers and judiciary.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has processes in place to enable citizens and their representatives, including hon Members, to arrange in-person meetings with non-Executive Directors in his (a) Department and (b) other agencies and bodies for which he is responsible to raise concerns about (i) the performance, (ii) operational issues and (iii) management and scrutiny of his Department.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department has no specific processes in place for members of the public or MPs to arrange in-person meetings with non-Executive Directors.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken through its (a) policies, (b) procedures and (c) designated personnel to ensure that it is able to account for personal data under Article 5(1) of the UK General Protection Regulation.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The MoJ has a data protection policy which is supported by topic specific acceptable use protocols (e.g. Data Sharing, Subject Access Requests, Data Subject Rights). There also a raft of guidance documents and a comprehensive training programme which is designed around specific roles and business need.
The Ministry of Justice’s Data Protection Team comprises certified data protection professionals. This team is supported by Information Assurance Leads and Knowledge and Information Managers who are embedded in business areas and Executive Agencies to provide assurance against data protection legislation. The MoJ’s approach to data protection compliance was endorsed by the Information Commissioner’s Office when it undertook a consensual audit in October 2021 and awarded the MoJ a “reasonable” rating (the second highest rating).
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken steps to help ensure that citizens are able to meet in-person with his Department’s data protection officer.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
There is no legal obligation for the Data Protection Officer (DPO) to meet citizens in person. There is a requirement for data subjects/citizens to be informed of the DPO’s contact details. This is done via the Ministry of Justice’s Personal Information Charters and privacy notices.