Ancillary Material - Prime Minister's Speaking Note for the Home Secretary [2001-06-08]

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CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL

PM Speaking Note 3

HOME OFFICE

Appointment: Want you to be Home Secretary. Crucial post.

Accommodation: Continue to have the use of South Eaton Place.

Salary: Richard Wilson has asked permanent secretaries to assume that all Cabinet Ministers will draw their full salary unless an individual Minister decides otherwise. Not going to make a big song and dance about it: just do it.

Structural changes: Making important changes to structure immediately. Announcing today. Important that key partners are consulted. Lord Chancellor is seeing the judiciary. Action:

i. You should talk to the police through ACPO, and perhaps also the probation service, so that they understand what is going on.

ii. You or someone on your behalf should talk to the authorities in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man to explain to them the changes which are being made.

Aim of changes: to give Home Office end-to-end responsibility for criminal justice system, and to slim down business to enable you to concentrate on reducing crime.

Key features: Detail summarised in note. Hand over note.

Court Service and associated policy functions being transferred from the Lord Chancellor’s Department (LCD) to the Home Office, plus the Drugs Unit from the Cabinet Office. But Lord Chancellor remains responsible for judicial appointment, civil law etc. No question of undermining the independence of the judiciary.

Work permits also being transferred from the DfEE because of close link with immigration work.

Many minor Home Office functions being transferred to the LCD (eg. freedom of information, Channel Isles, human rights), DCMS (eg. gambling, horseracing, video classification), DETR (Fire Service, electoral law), DTI (Summertime etc), Cabinet Office (Active Community Unit) and new Department of Rural Affairs (animal welfare including the Hunting Bill but not vivisection).

CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL

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CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL

For use if needed:

Reducing crime is the key priority. Delivering results over the lifetime of this Parliament is essential.

Present structure is too heavy to enable Home Secretary to concentrate on the main priorities. Too many distractions blowing up out of a clear blue sky which require the attention of the Home Secretary at present (eg. mad dogs, Royal Jubilee issues)

These transfers make more sense in the context of the work of these other departments: eg.

LCD must get something in return for what they are giving up.

Liquor licensing: needs to be seen in the context of tourism and leisure industries. Policy goes much wider than the criminal law. Criminal law still a matter for you.

Electoral law: nothing to do with crime. Makes sense to handle it alongside local government elections.

Special Advisers: You will be getting UK Anti-Drugs Coordination Unit from the Cabinet Office. Keith Hellawell and Mike Trace are special advisers and their contracts formally lapse today. You will need my formal permission to reappoint them - as with your other special adviser appointments - but I will regard them as being additional to your normal limit.

Contract: Want to agree with you the main objectives which we shall be driving through in this Parliament. Here is a draft of what that contract will be. Will want to discuss it and agree it with you in next few weeks when you have had a chance to consider it.

New Delivery Unit in Cabinet Office reporting to me through Charlie Falconer, will be in charge of supporting your department in delivering this contract, ensuring any problems are tackled and reporting progress.

Management team. You will want to be sure that your department’s Management Board has the skills which it needs to deliver this contract. Richard Wilson has asked permanent secretaries to make sure that they have the skills which they need in their top team. Grateful if you would take a close interest in this.

8 June 2001

CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL