13 November 2024
Henricus
[FYI request #29059 email]
Ref: PMO OIA 176-2024-25
Dear Henricus
Official Information Act request: Security Information in Proceedings Act 2022
Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), received
on 5 November 2024. You requested:
“
This request is in two parts, Part A and Part B. Both relate to the “designated
agency”, which is a public service agency (or agencies) designated by you, the
Prime Minister, to meet certain requirements under the Security Information in
Proceedings Act 2022 (the SIPA). I acknowledge that the information requested
in Part B of this request is more closely connected with the functions of the
designated agency responsible for maintaining the special advocate panel under
s 16 of the SIPA. Because the name of the designated agency is not yet publicly
known, I trust that you will transfer Part B of this request to the relevant
designated agency in accordance with s 14 of the OIA. This saves me from
having to wait for your response in order to request the information from the
designated agency directly.
Part A:
1. What is the name of the public service agency you have designated as
responsible for maintaining the special advocate panel under s 16 of the SIPA?
2. What is the name of the public service agency you have designated as
responsible for meeting the costs of special advocates and special advisers
under ss 24 and 27 of the SIPA?
Part B:
In this request, “special advocate” means a lawyer who is a member of the
special advocate panel.
1. Please provide a list of special advocates and date they were first appointed to
the panel.
2. How many special adovcates currently sit on the special advocate panel?
3. How many special advocates are men?
4. How many special advocates are King’s Counsel?
5. What is the median post-qualification experience of special advocates?
Questions 2–5 may be answered implicitly through the answering of Question 1.
6. Please provide any policies, application forms (unfilled), questionnaires
(unfilled), selection criteria, agreements, memoranda, details of how potential
candidates for appointment are identified or discovered, or other documents used
in the appointment process and administration of the special advocate panel.
7. What is (are) the current remuneration rate(s), if any, agreed between the
designated agency and special advocates?
8. How many proceedings have special advocates been appointed in since the
commencement of the SIPA?
9. Do special adovcates maintain a security clearance independently of their
appointment to the special advocate panel (e.g. as a result of other government
legal work), or is the designated agency the sponsoring/granting agency of
special advocates’ security clearances?”
I believe the requested information is more closely connected to the functions of the Ministry
of Justice. Accordingly, I have decided to transfer your request to the Ministry of Justice
under section 14(b)(ii) of the Act.
The Ministry of Justice has the usual time limits from receipt of this transfer to make a
decision on your request.
Yours sincerely
Cameron Burrows
Chief of Staff
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