Justice & Home Affairs

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. Mark Sedwill, permanent secretary at the Home Office takes part in our annual perm secs round-up...

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions, takes part in our annual perm secs round-up​

Making a success of Brexit does not mean UK should ditch its reputation as a "free, tolerant, outward facing society", says former Foreign Office permanent secretary

As well as leading the Ministry of Justice through a time of immense challenge and change, Richard Heaton is also busy trying to break down the barriers holding back black and minority ethnic civil servants. He tells Suzannah Brecknell why he’s optimistic about the future. Photos: Paul Heartfield

Institute for Government says ruling on Parliamentary approval for Article 50 trigger will “greatly impact” Theresa May’s plans to enact leave mechanism by March 2017

Justice permanent secretary tells MPs that “bearing down on the gap” between spending review targets and actual spending is the largest challenge for his officials, as he stands by the decision to implement spending controls that caused friction between department and prisons inspectorate

Ex-immigration and enforcement chief Amanda Campbell takes up post as troubled watchdog’s chief executive officer 

Susan Acland-Hood on the move as courts service presses ahead with digital shake-up

Public Accounts Committee says department is unable to evidence reforms' success and significant challenges remain

Tom Read, who has been at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for just seven months, will take over from Arif Harbott 

The Howard League for Penal Reform finds that there were 14,689 frontline officers in prisons in June 2016, down from 15,110 a year earlier

Equalities and Human Rights Commission paints stark picture of differing outcomes for ethnic minority groups and urges government to join up disparate initiatives