March 29, 2007: New Ministry of Justice

Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced major changes to the Home Office, which will be divided and refocused. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS), including the Prison and Probation Services, will move from the Home Office to the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 9th May, 2007, creating a Ministry of Justice. The Home Office will retain its other existing responsibilities, including for policing, anti-social behaviour, drugs, overall crime reductions, immigration, asylum and identity management (ID cards and passports).

The Home Office will take on a stronger role in tackling the threat of terrorism, alongside its existing responsibilities of the police service, crime reduction, immigration and asylum, and identity and passports. A new Office for Security and Counter-terrorism will be set up within the Home Office, responsible for developing and supporting the country's overall counter-terrorism strategy.

As part of the changes, which build on the government's recently published Security, Crime and Justice Policy Review, the government will form a new Ministerial Committee on Security and Terrorism, chaired by the Prime Minister, which will meet regularly to share information on security issues. A national security board chaired by the Home Secretary will meet weekly to study threats to the UK.

A new Ministry of Justice will be created, in order to provide a stronger focus on the criminal justice system, and on reducing re-offending. The Prime Minister said the new Ministry of Justice will take the leading role in delivering a fairer, more effective, speedy and efficient justice system. This new ministry will take over the staff and responsibilities of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and NOMS, including the prison and probation services, and have lead responsibility for criminal law and sentencing. Finally, the Office of Criminal Justice Reform will remain a tripartite office, as it is now, but will operate from the new ministry, rather than from the Home Office.

In a written ministerial statement, the Prime Minister stated that the security and counter-terrorism changes will have immediate effect:

 "Separately I have decided to bring the agencies that deal with offenders into a new Ministry of Justice. Protecting the public demands we grip those who commit crime from the moment they enter the criminal justice system right through court, prison and probation".

In a statement to Parliament, Home Secretary John Reid explained that in the wake of reviews conducted last year, the Prime Minister had decided to enhance the Home Office's focus on issues critical to national security. The relationship between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice will be vital, and strong agreements will be put in place between NOMS, the police, and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, to ensure that they all work together smoothly.

Alongside these changes the Prime Minister today announced the creation of a Ministry of Justice that will bring together the main agencies dealing with the offender. The National Offender Management Service (including the Prison and Probation Services) and lead responsibility for criminal justice and sentencing policy will move from the Home Office to the Department for Constitutional Affairs from May 9.

The Ministry of Justice will be responsible for policy on the overall criminal, civil, family and administrative justice system, including sentencing policy, as well as the courts, tribunals, legal aid and constitutional reform. It will help to bring together management of the criminal justice system from end to end, meaning that once a suspect has been charged their journey through the courts, and if necessary prison and probation, can be managed seamlessly.

The Ministry will take a leading role in delivering a fairer, more effective, speedy and efficient justice system, and also in reducing re-offending. In doing so it will, with the Home Office and the Attorney General's Office, respect the vital roles and independence of the judiciary and the Prosecuting authorities.

Public protection and crime reduction will continue to be the core focus of Government policy. The Government has made clear that prison will continue to be necessary to protect the public from the most serious offenders, although some non dangerous offenders do not need to be in custody because their offending can be better addressed through non-custodial means, the Government has announced plans to build a further 8,000 prison places by 2012, having already increased capacity by 19,700 since 1997.

Criminal Law and sentencing policy will move to the new Ministry of Justice. In order to maintain the Government's clear focus on public protection, and crime reduction, the Home Secretary will continue to have a core role in decision making in this area, reflecting his responsibilities for crime reduction. The Secretary of State for Justice will work with the Home Secretary, Attorney General and other Ministers to ensure flexible and effective responses to different types of crime, from anti-social behaviour, to serious and organised criminality, including through the expansion of summary powers. Government policy in this area will in future be decided by a new Cabinet committee on Crime and the Criminal Justice System, chaired by the Prime Minister.

Responsibility for the Crown Prosecution Service and the other prosecuting authorities will remain with the Attorney General, who has a statutory duty to superintend them. The prosecuting authorities are an integral part of the Criminal Justice System and the Ministry of Justice will continue to work with the Office of the Attorney General to deliver a world-class criminal justice system.

There will continue to be a shared National Criminal Justice Board and an Office for Criminal Justice Reform, based in the Ministry for Justice and working trilaterally between the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General's office. This will ensure that the police and prosecutors continue to work closely and effectively with the courts, prison and probation.