My right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Lord Chief Justice and I are today issuing the following joint Statement.

We have been exploring the most appropriate arrangements for the future operation of HMCS following the creation of the Ministry of Justice.  Following an open and constructive consideration of a number of possible models, we have agreed the main principles of a partnership between the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice in relation to the governance, financing and operation of HMCS. We hope that the steps necessary to launch a new model for HMCS, based on these principles, will be complete early in the new financial year.

The courts are by their nature a shared endeavour between the judiciary, which is responsible for the judicial function to deliver justice independently, and the Government, who have overall responsibility for the justice system within the framework and resources set by Parliament. Within this overall structure the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have specific, but different, roles. These were described in part in the concordat finalised in January 2004 between our predecessors as Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice.

Our recent discussions have built upon this work. 

The new arrangements for HMCS will structurally embed the spirit and principle of partnership that already exists. The detailed structure of the partnership and its governance will be set out in a framework document for HMCS, which will be laid before both Houses when it is finalised, together with the consequential amendments to the concordat.

While we shall not be intervening in the day-to-day operational decision-making of HMCS, we will jointly agree:

the aims and objectives for HMCS; and

the priorities for, and division of, funding within HMCS.

The main principles of this new and unique partnership (which will take the form of an agency) are that:

the leadership and broad direction of HMCS will be in the hands of a new board of 11 members which will hold HMCS (the chief executive and the executive team) to account for the delivery of the jointly agreed aims and objectives.  It will be chaired by an independent non-executive who will be neither a judge nor a civil servant and who will have a key role to facilitate the working of the partnership;

the other members of the board will be three judicial representatives, a representative of the Ministry of Justice, two non-executive directors and four executive directors (the chief executive of HMCS, its finance director and two others);

the chief executive will have day-to-day responsibility for the running of HMCS.  He will be the HMCS accounting officer, via the Permanent Secretary. The chief executive will work under the general direction set by the board and will be held by it to account for the delivery of the efficient and effective operation of the courts in accordance with the framework document, the budget and plans we shall have agreed;

a joint duty for all HMCS staff to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice for the effective and efficient operation of the courts; the staff will continue to be line-managed within HMCS;

an open and transparent means of settling the budget for HMCS which includes greater judicial engagement in the resourcing of the courts through the HMCS board. The process will include:

the HMCS board having responsibilities for considering and approving HMCS resource bids and for developing the budget and plans for the operation of the courts; and

greater clarity in the role of the Lord Chief Justice when representing the views of the judiciary on the provision and allocation of resources, which will enable him to communicate the views of the judiciary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as well as the Lord Chancellor, when the Government are settling spending review negotiations. 

a clearer relationship between HMCS and the judiciary, reflecting the new partnership model, operating not only at the centre but also at regional, area, and local level;

a joint examination of how we can improve performance and efficiency across all aspects of the operation of the courts, including the contribution the judiciary may properly make to that while respecting its independence as a body and in respect of individual decisions;

specific provision will be made in the framework document for arrangements in relation to the court estate, IT, HR and policy issues.

We will be working out the detail of these new arrangements over the coming weeks, which will be reflected in the recruitment of the appointments necessary to launch the new partnership.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Since taking office in June my ministerial team has been working with Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff, other Whitehall departments and other stakeholders to bring a sharper and more strategic focus to the work of the FCO. I should like to inform the House of the outcome.

We considered the wider context in which the FCO, and the UK, are now operating: the changes driven by globalisation; the interdependence of foreign and domestic policy; the growing diversity of international actors; and hence the need for a modern foreign ministry to be constantly reassessing where and how it can make the most valuable contribution.

Based on this assessment, I have approved a new strategic framework to guide the work of the FCO in future. This has three elements, reflecting the three main roles of the FCO:

Providing a flexible global network serving the Government as a whole

In addition to delivering our new policy goals and essential services, our posts abroad will continue to support the rest of Whitehall in delivering home departments’ own international priorities.

Delivering essential services to the British public and business

Our worldwide consular operation which provides assistance to UK citizens living, working or travelling abroad; UK Trade and Investment, which works to help UK businesses and exporters and attract inward investment to the UK; and our worldwide visa operation, currently carried out by UKvisas, which will be incorporated into the new UK Border Agency later this year.

Shaping and delivering HMG’s foreign policy

We have identified four new policy priorities on which the FCO will focus, on which I briefed the House on 8 January: countering terrorism and proliferation; reducing and preventing conflict; promoting a low-carbon/high-growth global economy; and developing effective international institutions, especially the UN and EU.

I intend to put more of the FCO’s overall resources into these new priorities. A closer alignment of resources and priorities will enable the FCO to deliver better for Britain and HMG. So we will be increasing substantially the overall level of resources the FCO puts into counterterrorism and counterproliferation; climate change; Afghanistan and other conflict regions; and key international institutions. All these areas will receive additional staff and money.

We have also decided that we should adapt the FCO’s overseas network of posts to align it more closely with our own priorities and those of HMG as a whole. So we will be shifting a proportion of our diplomatic staff from Europe and the Americas to Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world, while continuing to sustain our global flexibility and reach.

As I told the House on 8 January, we will continue to manage the FCO’s overseas network to reflect changing demands and challenges. We will ensure that our resources are aligned with our priorities and that the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation around the world.

In order to put more resources into these new priority areas and to sharpen our strategic focus, it is necessary to reduce the resources the FCO puts into certain other issues, notably where other Whitehall departments in London are better placed to direct HMG’s international priorities, particularly in the areas of sustainable development, science and innovation, and crime and drugs.

Our ambassadors will, however, remain heavily engaged on all these issues in those countries where they are of particular importance to Britain: eg, the fight against drugs in Colombia and against crime in Jamaica. Our posts overseas will continue to operate as a base for all Whitehall departments on which they can put their own staff and resources to deliver their own priorities in the countries concerned. Our ambassadors will continue to offer advice to departments and their local representatives, and act locally on their behalf wherever needed.

This new strategic framework will replace the FCO’s 10 existing strategic priorities. This is in line with the view expressed by the Foreign Affairs Committee in its response to our 2006-07 departmental White Paper that “10 strategic priorities is too many” and that they should be “simplified and reduced in number”. We will be taking forward the detailed planning and implementation over the next few months, inside the FCO and with other government departments.

I believe that every organisation, including every government department, should regularly reassess its own aims and priorities. Successful organisations stay focused on the biggest issues on which they can make the biggest difference, and regularly readjust that focus as circumstances and priorities change. That is what we have sought to do for the FCO through this new strategic framework.

My right honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Health (Dawn Primarolo), has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am placing in the Library a copy of a letter sent to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee in response to the report from the committee published on 22 November 2007 in relation to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.