Issuing, control and Management of computerised court records

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Ministry of Justice should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

mr Alexander Quarcoo

Dear Ministry of Justice,

Issuing computerised court records (Court admin)

1. After the court admin staff enter data on to Caseman system database creating the case reference number and computerised court records for each case can the MoJ confirm that you have all the recorded information relating to every civil court proceedings in the County Court and High Court stored and managed in your secure data centre system managed by the MoJ Technology directorate? Please provide all the recorded information to explain how computerised court records are generated.

Transferring all data held on computerised court records from court admin to MoJ

2. After the reference number and computerised court records of each court case can you provide all the recorded information explaining how all the information recorded contained in the computerised court record is transferred to the MoJ’s database by the administration of the Court? Please provide all the recorded information to explain how computerised court records are transferred to the caseman database.

Control and management of computerised court records at MoJ

3. Can you also provide the recorded information explaining how all the data recorded in the computerised court records of every civil proceedings in the County Court and High Court is placed under the control of the Information Asset Owner (IAO) as a member of the MoJ Operational Directorate as part of all the data held, relating to all civil court proceedings and how the Information Asset Owner (IAO) manages this data? Please provide all the recorded information to explain how computerised court records are managed and controlled.

Please provide comprehensive answers to these questions by researching and using all the recorded information you have available in the training manuals, handbooks of MoJ staff and departments which work routinely with computerised court records, Caseman database and data control specifically the staff who work with court records and record management.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours faithfully,

mr Alexander Quarcoo

Singh, Satnam, Ministry of Justice

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Quarcoo,

 

Thank you for your enquiry dated 23 October 2017.

 

I attach our response and some additional documents that may be of use to
you in connection with your enquiry.

 

Kindest regards,

 

Satnam

Satnam Singh, Business and Governance Manager, Digital Change | Her
Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)

Ministry of Justice | 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ | [1]www.gov.uk |
@MoJGovUK

 

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mr Alexander Quarcoo

Dear Ministry of Justice,

Thank you for your efforts in providing an initial response to this FOi request with some additional documents that may be of use in connection with this enquiry.

The initial view after reading your response is that it has been challenging to find a straightforward answer to the questions of this FOI request. The reasons are in the additional information attached do not respond directly the specific questions of this FOI. Furthermore the amount of information attached is so vast that it is not easy to establish what is really relevant to answer the questions and what isn’t.

The use of internal technical and user-specific jargon also proves to be an obstacle in providing a precise answer to each question. It has to be said that not all the information attached was relevant to answer the questions of this request. Overall the amount of the information attached did not help to find the precise answers and unfortunately was not enough ‘user-friendly’.

Having read all the additional information it is reasonable to conclude that there was no precise answer to questions 1 and 2. Question 3 also require some clarifications.

Perhaps, it would be useful to clarify by reformulating the questions in a different and simpler manner to help your response in answering the questions with clarity.

CLARIFICATIONS:

Question 1 – Can the MoJ confirm that it has all the recorded information relating to every civil court proceedings in the County Court and High Court stored and managed in your secure data centre system after each case reference number (and computerised court records) for each case is allocated and originated by the administration of each court? In essence is each and every civil proceedings recorded in the caseman database with all the related information attached once a case reference number is assigned?

Please, just answer ‘yes’ or ‘not’ to simply your response.

Question 2 -
Can the MoJ confirm that all the information recorded contained in the computerised court record is transferred electronically from the court’s computer’s system to the MoJ’s Caseman database after the reference number and computerised court records of each court case is allocated by the administration of each court?

Please, Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘not’ to simply your response.

Question 3 – I will include only the clarifications and questions for which there was no answer in your response or in the information you have kindly attached.
In your response you mentioned that ‘the civil and high courts have different Information Asset Owners (IAO).

A - Can the MoJ confirm that Rachel Hunt, is the only Information Asset Owners (IAO) responsible for each and every type of court proceedings issued by the County Court? Please, Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘not’ to simply your response.

B - Are the two roles of Ms Hunt, namely Information Asset Owners (IAO) and Deputy Jurisdictional Director Civil and Family two separate and distinct roles? Please Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘not’ to simply your response.

C - If so what is the difference between these two roles and what are the main duties of Deputy Jurisdictional Director Civil and Family?

D - Can the MoJ confirm that Kate Briden, is the only Information Asset Owners (IAO) responsible for each and every types of court proceedings issued in every court’s department (Queens’ Bench, Administrative, etc) grouped under the Royal Court of Justice? Please Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘not’ to simply your response.

E - You stated that ‘Information Asset Owners within HMCTS are senior staff. Can you please specify how many Information Asset Owners are employed within HMCTS and provide their names?

F - You mentioned that Information Asset Owners are responsible for the data content contained ‘in systems and physical assets that are either owned or in the custody of HMCTS'. Please explain what do mean by ‘systems and physical assets’ and what’s the difference between these two types of information assets?

G - Is each Information Asset Owner directly responsible and accountable also for the physical paper file held and containing all the information and documentation related to each proceedings in the County Court and High Court?

H - Is the Information Asset Owner able to know who among the court's personnel created the computerised court records in each court and who among the HMCTS’ personnel has had access to create, amend and update the data in each of these electronic files?

Yours sincerely,

mr Alexander Quarcoo

Singh, Satnam, Ministry of Justice

Dear Mr Quarcoo,

 

Thank you for your enquiry of 18 November, further to our response to you
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

 

In our original reply to you under the FOIA, we were endeavouring to be as
helpful as possible and provide you with as comprehensive an answer. We
also need to advise you that requests can only be considered to fall under
the FOIA if they are requests for actual information. If instead we
receive general questions that simply require yes or no type answers, then
they are outside the scope of the FOIA.

 

That said, we have answered your questions below, as non-FOIA responses,
and in the way that you have specified would be most helpful to you. The
answers are directly after your questions and in blue, so that you can
easily identify them.

 

Regards,

 

Satnam

 

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