§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between the Ministers and agencies in the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Lord Chancellor is currently responsible for three executive agencies—the Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office—and is accountable to Parliament for them. The relationship and division of responsibilities between him and his agencies is fully set out in the individual agencies' published framework documents. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for appointing the agency chief executives; for setting and reviewing agency targets and monitoring performance against them; for approving the corporate and business plans; for securing the provision of financial588W resources; for making rules and orders; and for decisions on policy issues. The Land Registry and the Public Record Office are separate departments. The Public Trust Office is part of the Lord Chancellor's Department. The agency chief executives are responsible for the day-to-day management of the agencies and are accountable to the Lord Chancellor for their effective and efficient management. As accounting officers, or in the case of the Public Trust Office agency accounting officer, the chief executives are also responsible for the proper and economical expenditure of money.