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Other Departments

There are also GLS lawyers situated in other legal teams in various Departments. These include:

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

www.cica.gov.uk

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority administers the criminal injuries compensation scheme throughout England, Scotland and Wales. We pay compensation to people who have been the victim of a violent crime. We operate the scheme from offices in Glasgow and London.

Communications & Electronic Security Group

www.cesg.gov.uk

CESG aims to protect and promote the vital interests of the UK by providing advice and assistance on the security of communications and electronic data. We deliver information assurance policy, services and advice that Government and other customers need to protect vital information services.

Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (CPSI)

www.hmcpsi.gov.uk

HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is an independent statutory body. The primary role of HMCPSI is to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of the CPS whose statutory function is to prosecute the majority of criminal cases in England and Wales. The CPS is organised into forty-two geographical Areas, each under the leadership of a Chief Crown Prosecutor. Within CPS Headquarters there are five Directorates. There are also three casework divisions which make up its Headquarters; these have staff based in London, Birmingham and York.

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM)

www.ofgem.gov.uk

The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“the Authority”) is a body established by the Utilities Act 2000 to regulate the gas and electricity industries in Great Britain. The Authority has powers under the Competition Act 1998, the Utilities Act 2000, the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986.

The principal objective of the Authority is to protect the interests of consumers in relation to electricity or gas by promoting effective competition.

Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee (OffSol)

www.officialsolicitor.gov.uk

The work of two statutory posts - the Official Solicitor appointed under s.90 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 and the Public Trustee under the Public Trustee Act 1906 - is conducted from the office, and the same individual has been appointed to these posts. It is an associated office of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The office exists to represent in legal proceedings persons under a legal disability (either children or adults who lack mental capacity) to protect their welfare or rights and to administer estates or trusts which it has accepted where there is no other suitable person or agency willing or able to act. It also undertakes the functions of the Central Authority for England and Wales under international conventions relating to child abduction and access and in relation to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders.

Postal Services Commission

www.postcomm.gov.uk

Postcomm - the Postal Services Commission - is an independent regulator. It was created by the Postal Services Act 2000 to further the interests of users of postal services. Our main tasks are to:

· seek to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at a uniform tariff
· further the interests of users of postal services
· license Royal Mail (formerly known as Consignia)
· control Royal Mail's prices and its quality of service
· license other companies wishing to enter the market
· advise Government on developments in the Post Office network

Welsh Assembly Government

www.wales.gov.uk

The Directorate of Legal Services (DLS) constitutes the legal Department of the Welsh Assembly Government. The Director is the chief legal adviser to the Welsh Assembly Government with responsibility also for all Assembly litigation. The Legislative Counsel has broad responsibility for maintaining and improving the quality of the Assembly’s bilingual legislation and legislative procedures. Legislative Counsel also has responsibility for the Legislation Management Unit, the Legislative Translation Team and Constitution & Human Rights team. The remaining three Assistant Directors share responsibility for seven teams of lawyers and Practice Managers Office, consisting of:-

· Health & Food
· Social Care
· Education & Culture
· Local Govt, Social Justice & Regeneration
· Economic Development
· Planning & Environment
· Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Wales Office

www.walesoffice.gov.uk

The Wales Office came into being on July 1 1999 when most of the powers of the Welsh Office were handed over to the National Assembly for Wales.

Based in Whitehall, the Secretary of State for Wales is the key Government figure liaising with the devolved administration in Wales and represents Wales' interests in the Cabinet and in Parliament.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

www.dvla.gov.uk

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT). The Agency is accountable to the Secretary of State and Ministers and, through them, to Parliament and the public, for efficient and effective management of the Agency and its responsibilities. Our primary aims are to facilitate road safety and general law enforcement by maintaining registers of drivers and vehicles, and to collect vehicle excise duty (car tax).

www.rail-reg.gov.uk

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain's railways. Our main roles in the context of economic regulation are to regulate Network Rail's stewardship of the national rail network, to licence operators of railway assets and to approve track and station access agreements. We also have concurrent jurisdiction with the Office of Fair Trading to investigate potential breaches of the Competition Act 1998 in relation to the railways. In safety regulation, our principal function is to secure the safe operation of the railway system and to protect both those working on the system and members of the public from health and safety risks arising from the railways. We work in a complex, stimulating, and often high-profile environment which is vital to the nation's infrastructure and involves stakeholders from across the rail industry and beyond.

The ORR legal services team is a small, friendly and supportive team of ten lawyers from a mixture of Civil Service and private practice backgrounds. The team provides legal advice in respect of all ORR's functions as a combined economic and safety regulator. It includes four lawyers who provide advice in respect of ORR's wide ranging economic functions. It also includes a team which advises on rail safety enforcement carries out prosecutions for health and safety offences on the railways and has involvement in inquests arising from deaths on the railways. Members of the team work closely with policy and other colleagues in ORR's various directorates and with industry stakeholders.

Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)

www.ofwat.gov.uk

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Our role is to seek value for consumers. Before 1 April 2006 our functions rested with the Director General of Water Services. The framework for the changeover was outlined in the Water Act 2003. It provides a similar structure to other economic regulators.

The Board includes the Chairman, a Chief Executive, two executive and four non-executive directors. The Board is responsible for deciding how we carry out our functions and effectively meet our statutory requirements. There is a majority of non-executive members.

We make our decisions independently of the Government, but we work closely with:

the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Assembly Government;

the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), which is an independent organisation that represents customers' interests and deals with your complaints;

the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which sets standards for the quality of drinking water;

the Environment Agency, which regulates and enforces water abstraction consents and quality standards in inland, estuarial and coastal waters; and

Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales, on environmental issues