Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the termination of the Department’s contract with Smee and Ford, what changes his Department plans make to its legacy notification service for charities to ensure the new system is fully compliant with the law.

HMCTS are continuing to define the long-term requirements and strategy for the future delivery of this service. In doing so, they met with representatives of the charity sector last month and a summary of this meeting is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmcts-legacy-notification-service-meeting-summary-5-march-2019

HMCTS is looking to establish interim arrangements to ensure that charities continue to receive a notification service beyond the end of the current arrangements with Smee & Ford as we develop a sustainable arrangement that is both fully compliant with our legal duties and meets the needs of those who use it.