The Ministry of Justice has revealed the roles of its new ministerial team headed by justice secretary Kenneth Clarke, with the legal aid brief handed to former City lawyer Jonathan Djanogly.

Tom McNally, minister of state and deputy leader of the House of Lords, will have responsibility for: civil liberties; freedom of information and data protection; legislation and law reform; public law and public legal issues; Crown dependencies; the Land Registry; national archives; and the Law Commission. He will also oversee the department’s business in the House of Lords.Police minister Nick Herbert will be responsible for criminal justice strategy. He will report on this to the home secretary as well as to Clarke.

Parliamentary under-secretary of state Crispin Blunt’s portfolio will comprise: prisons and probation; youth justice; criminal law and sentencing policy; and criminal justice.

Parliamentary under-secretary of state Djanogly, a former partner at SJ Berwin, has been handed: legal aid and legal services; the courts and tribunals services; the Office of the Public Guardian; offices of courts funds, the official solicitor and the public trustee; civil law and justice; family justice; coroner reform and burial policy; the Criminal Cases Review Commission; the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and the Parole Board.

Clarke said: ‘We face formidable challenges. We must ensure fairness and efficiency in our justice system, while reinforcing an independent judiciary.

‘We must provide protection for the public from dangerous individuals and find ways to improve rehabilitation so to cut the worryingly high rates of recidivism.’