Department for Constitutional Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department
. On 28 March 2007 it was announced that the Department for Constitutional Affairs would take control of probation, prisons and prevention of re-offending from the Home Office
and be renamed the Ministry of Justice
. This took place on 9 May 2007.
It was primarily responsible for reforms to the Constitution
, relations with the Channel Islands
and Isle of Man
and, within England and Wales
, it was concerned with the administration of the Courts
, legal aid
, the appointment of the Judiciary
. Other responsibilities included issues relating to human rights
, data protection, and freedom of information
.
It incorporated the Wales Office
and the Scotland Office
, but those offices remain the overall responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales
and Secretary of State for Scotland
respectively.
After the 2005 general election
, it gained additional responsibilities for coroner
s and conduct of local government elections in England
.
enacted since 1997 that gave powers to the Department of Constitutional Affairs.
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....
. On 28 March 2007 it was announced that the Department for Constitutional Affairs would take control of probation, prisons and prevention of re-offending from the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
and be renamed the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
. This took place on 9 May 2007.
It was primarily responsible for reforms to the Constitution
Constitution of the United Kingdom
The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single core constitutional document. In this sense, it is said not to have a written constitution but an uncodified one...
, relations with the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
and Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and, within England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, it was concerned with the administration of the Courts
Courts of England and Wales
Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply the law of England and Wales and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The United Kingdom does not have...
, legal aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
, the appointment of the Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
. Other responsibilities included issues relating to human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, data protection, and freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
.
It incorporated the Wales Office
Wales Office
The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....
and the Scotland Office
Scotland Office
The Scotland Office is a United Kingdom government department headed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and responsible for Scottish affairs...
, but those offices remain the overall responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
and Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
respectively.
After the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, it gained additional responsibilities for coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
s and conduct of local government elections in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Departmental executive agencies and public bodies
- Her Majesty's Courts ServiceHer Majesty's Courts ServiceHer Majesty's Courts Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the civil, family and criminal courts in England and Wales....
(for England and WalesEngland and WalesEngland and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
) - Public Guardianship OfficePublic Guardianship OfficeThe Office of the Public Guardian in England and Wales is a government body that, within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, protects the private assets and supervises the financial affairs of people who lack mental capacity for making decisions. It is an executive agency of the...
(for England and WalesEngland and WalesEngland and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
) - Tribunals ServiceTribunals ServiceThe Tribunals Service was an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom between April 2006 and March 2011.The Tribunals Service was responsible for:*Adjudicator for HM Land Registry*Asylum and Immigration Tribunal...
- Official Solicitor and Public Trustee
- Legal Services CommissionLegal Services CommissionThe Legal Services Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice that is responsible for the operational administration of legal aid in England and Wales.-Overview:...
- HM Land RegistryHM Land RegistryLand Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...
Legislation enacted by the department
This is a list of Acts of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
enacted since 1997 that gave powers to the Department of Constitutional Affairs.
Constitutional acts
- Compensation Act 2006Compensation Act 2006The Compensation Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced in response to concerns about a growing compensation culture but conversely to ensure that the public received dependable service from claims management companies...
- Criminal Defence Service Act 2006Criminal Defence Service Act 2006The Criminal Defence Service Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Sections 1 to 4 came into force on 2 October 2006.-Section 1 - Grant of rights to representation:...
- Inquiries Act 2005Inquiries Act 2005The Inquiries Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Act "is designed to provide a framework under which future inquiries, set up by Ministers into events that have caused or have potential to cause public concern,...
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005Constitutional Reform Act 2005The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
- Mental Capacity Act 2005Mental Capacity Act 2005The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its primary purpose is to provide a legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of adults who lack the capacity to make particular decisions for themselves....
- Gender Recognition Act 2004Gender Recognition Act 2004The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:...
- Courts Act 2003Courts Act 2003The Courts Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom implementing many of the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's in England and Wales...
- The Commonhold And Leasehold Reform Act 2002
- Land Registration Act 2002Land Registration Act 2002The Land Registration Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed and replaced previous legislation governing land registration, in particular the Land Registration Act 1925, which governed an earlier, though similar, system...
- Freedom of Information Act 2000Freedom of Information Act 2000The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
- Access to Justice Act 1999
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Human Rights Act 1998Human Rights Act 1998The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
Election acts
- Electoral Administration Act 2006Electoral Administration Act 2006The Electoral Administration Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed on 11 July 2006. The Bill was amended during its passage through the House of Lords to require political parties to declare large loans; this followed the "Cash for Peerages" scandal...
- European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004The European Parliamentary and Local Elections Act 2004 is in Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom .The Act allowed an all-postal ballot to be piloted in four regions of the United Kingdom: North East, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West, at the local and European...
- European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003The European Parliament Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The long title is "An Act to make provision enabling alterations to be made to the total number of Members of the European Parliament to be elected for the United Kingdom and to their distribution between the...
- European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002The European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act divided the United Kingdom into various regions to which were allocated a number of seats. England was divided into nine regions with a total of 71 seats, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland...
- Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom...
- Representation of the People Act 2000Representation of the People Act 2000The Representation of the People Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:* It amended the Representation of the People Act 1983....
See also
- English lawEnglish lawEnglish law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
- Scottish Government
- Courts of ScotlandCourts of ScotlandThe civil, criminal and heraldic Courts of Scotland are responsible for the administration of justice. They are constituted and governed by Scots law....
- Departments of the United Kingdom GovernmentDepartments of the United Kingdom GovernmentHer Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...