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.

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 –

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.