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New Government Appointments: Justice & Emergency Services

A quick overview of the new Secretaries of State and Ministers of relevance to the Justice & Emergency Services Group,

The tired cliché of a week being a long time in politics has been oft quoted recently as we welcomed a new Prime Minister and several familiar figures moved to the back benches. It is without a doubt true that, when it comes to Justice & Emergency Services, Theresa May’s new Government contains several new faces:

Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP was appointed Home Secretary on 13 July 2016. For the year prior to her appointment she served in the Government as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. As Home Secretary she has overall responsibility for all Home Office business, including policing and fire services, security and counter-terrorism, and borders and immigration.

Brandon Lewis MP was appointed Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service at the Home Office on 15 July 2016. A barrister by trade, he served as Minister of State for Housing and Planning at the Department for Communities and Local Government from July 2014 until July 2016. As the Minister for Policing and Fire Service he will be responsible for police reform and governance, crime prevention, crime statistics, police use of technology, and national fire policy, among other things.

Ben Wallace MP was appointed Minister of State for Security at the Home Office on 17 July 2016. Before entering Parliament in 2005 he was an Officer in the Scots Guards, and then he worked for QinetiQ after leaving the army. He takeover as Minister of State for Security from Rt Hon John Hayes MP, who has moved to the Department of Transport. Within the Home Office he will be responsible for counter-terrorism, investigatory powers, serious and organised crime, Home Office science & technology; security exports; and small and medium enterprises.

techUK very much looks forward to working with the new Home Office Ministerial team over the coming months. There are huge opportunities for technological innovation to drive efficiencies and service improvements across the security, policing and fire landscape, as well as within the Home Office itself. With the recently announced move to establish a new Home Office Digital, Data and Technology unit, to be led by Sarah Wilkinson, now is the time to drive forward an agenda of digital transformation. In particular, the Home Office clarify which body has the remit to develop and set strategy and common standards across the police and criminal justice system. The chosen body should work closely with industry, the police and policy makers to develop an ICT strategy and common standards.

Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 14 July 2016. For the past two years she served in the Government as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice she has oversight of all Ministry of Justice business and is responsible for making improvements to the criminal justice and prison system, so that it better serves the public.

Sir Oliver Heald QC MP was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice on 16 July 2016. A barrister since 1977, Sir Oliver served as Solicitor General from September 2012 until July 2014. His remit as Minister of State for Courts and Justice includes courts and tribunal reform, the Common Platform Programme, Crown Court efficiency, criminal justice system reform, EU and international business.

Sam Gyimah MP was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice on 17 July 2016. Prior to taking up this role he was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education. His new remit includes responsibility for prison reform, prison industrial relations, prison security, public protection, offender management and electronic monitoring.

The HMCTS Reform Programme and the Common Platform are both major digital transformation programmes which, if delivered successfully, could generate significant benefits for the public and the Government. techUK looks forward to working closely with the Lord Chancellor and her team to ensure that the Ministry of Justice has access to the right technologies to enable these programmes to succeed. We also urge the Ministry of Justice to work closely with the Home Office to develop an ICT strategy for the Criminal Justice System. This strategy should set out what it needs to achieve through the use of technology, and identify the data and assets it will need in order to deliver a fully digitally enabled, end-to-end justice system. This strategy should be predicated on the use of common standards across the system.

 

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