Lord Chancellor

Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor

Mary Elizabeth Truss was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in 2016. She is the first female Lord Chancellor in the thousand-year history of the role. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk since 2010.

The Secretary of State has oversight of all of Ministry of Justice business and is responsible for making improvements to the criminal justice and prison system so that it better serves the public. Other responsibilities include:

  • the resourcing of his department
  • overall strategy on criminal justice, penal policy, human rights and rehabilitation
  • other functions of the Lord Chancellor
  • EU and international