| Ministerial Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1885 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Minister responsible | |
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales.
Created in 1885[1] as the Lord Chancellor's Office with a small staff to assist the Lord Chancellor in his day-to-day duties, the department grew in power over the course of the 20th century, and at its peak had jurisdiction over the entire judicial system and a staff of over 22,000.[2] In 2003, it was succeeded by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice).
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/3Views:1 8521 39516 741
-
Affordable Care Act
-
Judicial Leadership - The Rt Hon Sir Peter Gross
-
A message from the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 2020
Transcription
Hi. I'm Chancellor Tim White and I have some important news to share with you. The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, represents a new opportunity for millions of Americans to obtain health care. Starting in October, families and individuals will be able to go to an online marketplace to get the coverage they need. All of us know someone whether it's a student, colleague, family member or neighbor who doesn't have health care coverage. And that's why this message is so critical. I want to make sure that you and your families, friends, and neighbors know about this opportunity so that you can take advantage and help us get this information out to the people who need it the most. With this new program, we have a historic opportunity to get more Californians the coverage they need and protect their families from getting crushed by medical bills. I'd like to introduce my good friend Herb Schultz, who was appointed by President Obama to work on health care issues. Herb is the Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in our region. It is such a pleasure to have the chance to speak with you and to speak with the California State University community. No one should have to go through life with the burden of knowing that one illness or accident could mean losing everything. No longer will you, your friends or your family members be denied health insurance for having a preexisting condition like asthma, diabetes or cancer. And you should not have to weigh the cost of a medical procedure against the cost of tuition and rent. That's why we have fought so hard to reform the health care system and finally put affordable health coverage within the reach of millions more Americans. Starting in October there will be a new way there will be a new way to buy health insurance. In every state uninsured individuals and individuals who buy their insurance right now and want to compare plans they have today with the new ones will be able to go online or meet with an enrollment counselor to access the Health Insurance Marketplace. For the first time ever individuals will have a place to shop for health insurance plans in their area and private insurers will need to compete for your business. And community members will be able to see how much these options cost without any hidden charges. In California, the state marketplace is called "Covered California." And, depending on your income, you will be able to learn, with a single application, if you qualify for a free or low-cost plan through Medi-Cal or additional assistance that will help you lower your monthly premiums for private insurance right away. Enrollment for the new coverage options starts on October 1 and goes until March 31, 2014. Californians who sign up for coverage can start seeing these benefits go into effect as early as January 1st, 2014. But just expanding access to coverage is not enough. We need uninsured individuals to sign up. California State University is a critical partner and we need your help sharing these coverage options with your community. Thank you so much, Herb. California State University has partnered with Covered California to make sure we, across all our campuses, are informed about the changes that are coming. You will soon be seeing students on your campus who will be helping to educate and enroll members of our community. Every one of us knows someone whose life could be changed by affordable health insurance. Now is the time to make a difference in your community. I encourage you to think about how you can help in this vital effort. Please visit the California State University website at www.calstate.edu to find out how you can get involved. To get the latest details on the coverage options, please visit Coveredca.com. And to see how ObamaCare is being implemented across the nation, or if you have any questions about the law, please visit HealthCare.gov or cuidadodesalud.gov for the latest news and updates. Herb, thank you for sharing this information with us. And thank you to our CSU students, faculty, and staff for your involvement. We look forward to a time when affordable health coverage is a reality for every American.
History
The department was created in 1885 by Lord Selborne, who was the Lord Chancellor at the time. The Lord Chancellor was the only cabinet minister (other than those without portfolio) not to have a department of civil servants answerable to him, and justified the expenditure of creating a permanent department by saying that:
The Lord Chancellor, though Minister of Justice for almost every purpose unconnected with the Criminal Law, had no assistance of the kind given to the other chief Departments of State, either of permanent secretaries or under secretaries. The officers attached to him were personal and liable to change with every change of government.. but on each change of government the lack of continuity was more or less felt; and as the Lord Chancellor's Department work had a constant tendency to increase, the pressure of that lack increased with it.[3]
The department was originally named the Lord Chancellor's Office, with the first employees simply being transferred from Selborne's personal retinue to the new office.[3] The need for the office was partly due to the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875, which significantly changed the structure of the courts and increased the Lord Chancellor's workload as he struggled to enact the changes that the Acts required.[4] Due to the odd nature of the Lord Chancellor's Office compared to other government departments (it was staffed almost entirely by lawyers and had an initial staff of only five) it developed slightly differently from other departments, regarding itself more as a lobbying organisation for the judges and the courts than a traditional government department.[5]
The office was initially little more than a personal entourage for the Lord Chancellor and did little administrative work, with it being described in 1912 as "not far removed from an interesting little museum".[6][full citation needed] The appointment of Claud Schuster as Permanent Secretary in June 1915 changed this; he set about reforming the office to allow it to effectively run the court system.[3] Initially with only a limited jurisdiction the Lord Chancellor's Department grew in power in the 1920s, with the transfer of control of the county courts from HM Treasury to the department in 1922 and the Supreme Court (consolidation) Act 1925.[7]
The power of the department reached its peak after the Courts Act 1971 was passed, which modernised the English court system and put the Lord Chancellor's Department in direct control.[8] Such a large increase in powers necessitated a change of office; previously the department had worked out of the Lord Chancellor's offices in the House of Lords, but it now moved to dedicated offices in Whitehall.[9] The passing of the Supreme Court Act 1981 and a 1992 move that transferred responsibility for the magistrates' courts to the department also served to increase its responsibilities.[10] The department ceased to exist as an independent body in 2003, when its functions were transferred to the newly created Department for Constitutional Affairs[11] (which itself became the Ministry of Justice in 2007).
Remit
At the time of its merger the Lord Chancellor's Department was charged with appointing and advising on the appointment of judges, running the court system and a certain number of tribunals and assisting in the reform of the English law.[1] To this end it controlled the Public Trust Office, the Courts Service, the Official Solicitor's Office, the Office of the Judge Advocate General, the Legal Aid Board and several more government agencies.[1]
Structure
The office was run by the Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office, a senior member of the Civil Service who also served as Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.[3] The office he ran was initially small, consisting of five individuals; the Permanent Secretary, his personal secretary, the personal secretary to the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of Presentations (who advised the Lord Chancellor on the appointment of senior members of the Church of England) and the Secretary of Commissions (who advised the Lord Chancellor on the appointment of magistrates).[12] The department stayed small compared to other ministerial departments; in the 1960s it had a staff of only 13 trained lawyers and a few secretaries.[13] The passing of the Courts Act 1971 and the additional duties it gave to the Lord Chancellor's Department forced it to expand, and by the time it ceased to exist as an independent department it had a staff of 12,000 direct employees, 10,000 indirect employees, 1,000 buildings (more than any other government department) and a yearly budget of £2.4 billion.[14]
Peculiarities
The Lord Chancellor's Department was significantly different from other government departments in a number of ways. Until 1992 it had no representative in the House of Commons; as Speaker of the House of Lords the Lord Chancellor could not sit in the House of Commons.[15] The department was also exempt from being scrutinised by the parliamentary select committees, something which changed in 1990.[15] The Permanent Secretary also had to be a barrister of at least seven years standing, and the Deputy Secretary always succeeded the Permanent Secretary when he retired.[16] Both of these changed in 1990.[16]
Junior ministers
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geoff Hoon | 
|
6 May 1997 | 17 May 1999 | Labour | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (6 May 1997- 28 July 1998)
Minister of State (28 July 1998 - 17 May 1999) | |
| Keith Vaz | 
|
17 May 1999 | 28 July 1999 | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the Lord Chancellor's Department | ||
| David Lock | 29 July 1999 | 11 June 2001 | ||||
| Jane Kennedy | 
|
11 October 1999 | 11 June 2001 | |||
| Willy Bach, Baron Bach | 
|
20 November 2000 | 11 June 2001 | |||
| Michael Wills | 
|
11 June 2001 | 29 May 2002 | |||
| Patricia Scotland | 
|
11 June 2001 | 12 June 2003 | |||
| Rosie Winterton | 
|
11 June 2001 | 12 June 2003 | |||
| Yvette Cooper | 
|
29 May 2002 | 12 June 2003 | |||
References
- ^ a b c "The National Archives - NDAD - Lord Chancellor's Department". The National Archives. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Hall & Martin (2003), p. 41.
- ^ Woodhouse (2001), p. 42.
- ^ Woodhouse (2001), p. 43.
- ^ Jackson (1977), p. 583.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 111.
- ^ Woodhouse (2001), p. 46.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 112.
- ^ Woodhouse (2001), p. 47.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 113.
- ^ Woodhouse (2001), p. 41.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 38.
- ^ Hall & Martin (2003), p. 57.
- ^ a b Hall & Martin (2003), p. 50.
- ^ a b Hall & Martin (2003), p. 51.
Bibliography
- Hall, Jean Graham; Martin, Douglas F. (2003). Yes, Lord Chancellor: A Biography of Lord Schuster. Chichester, West Sussex: Barry Rose Law Publishers. ISBN 1-902681-35-5.
- Jackson, R. M. (1977). Machinery of Justice in England. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-21688-3.
- Woodhouse, Diana (2001). The Office of Lord Chancellor. Hart Publishing. ISBN 1-84113-021-4.
This page was last edited on 25 November 2023, at 16:15