Ministry of Justice
Forensic assessment · v1.1.0 · updated 1 November 2026
Translation pending: the assessment text below is in English, the authoritative record.
- Response status
- Asked for clarification or fee
- Last contact
- 29 October 2026
- Next date on file
- None on file
- Earlier version
- v1.0.0, published 18 October 2026 on the Legal Wiki
Since last assessment
18 October 2026 to 1 November 2026
Our reading: Since 18 October 2026, 4 emails are on file: 2 sent, 2 received (1 with content, 1 automatic acknowledgements). The response status is unchanged: “Asked for clarification or fee”. Most material: 20 October 2026, received, fee or clarification demand: The administration officer again requests a case number and cites the published records retention and disposition schedule. Nothing here changes the earlier current finding unless stated above; this is a log of contact, not a finding about any person.
- Sentclarification givenref IR 260904007
The requester lists known case details, asks about surviving records and retention, and references an earlier no-records reply.
- Receivedfee or clarification demand
The administration officer again requests a case number and cites the published records retention and disposition schedule.
- Sentcorrespondence (no disclosure)
Supplement to the probate-records request adds the farm, estate and locality search forms.
1 automatic acknowledgement
Automatic confirmation from the Disclosure Team mailbox: FOI replies within 20 working days, subject access within one calendar month.
The assessment as last published
Carried over unchanged from v1.0.0 (18 October 2026). Links point inside this site.
Chronology and catalogue links — assessed 10-10-2026: Use the Institutional Involvement Roadmap (1877–2026) for the date-ordered institution/people/evidence sequence. The reported 1988 Cadw-to-Minister spot-listing letter has its own catalogue placeholder at GHF-E152; the original has not been attached to that page as at 10-10-2026. A placeholder records an evidence gap; it does not establish the letter’s contents or misconduct.
Forensic Assessment — Ministry of Justice
Scope: MoJ as present policy/records oversight, not as the historic court deciding the Great House Farm dispute.
Role
The MoJ may be relevant to historic judicial-record policy, retention architecture and any current administrative channel concerning justice-system records. It is not treated as having decided the 1955, 1962, 1974 or 1987 merits.
Forensic control test
Separate policy responsibility from individual court administration. If a historic file cannot be recovered, identify the actual custodian and retention rule rather than attributing its absence to MoJ.
Current finding
As at 10-10-2026, the material reviewed does not establish wrongdoing by the Ministry of Justice. This is not a finding that no MoJ-related records or functions are relevant.
Human action
Use MoJ only where HMCTS identifies a policy/retention issue requiring departmental escalation. Preserve relevant retention schedules and formal responses.
Acceptance: any MoJ role is tied to a named policy/function and concrete record.
Institutional appearance timeline — linked source index
Coverage rule: this is a chronological navigation map of published Wiki source pages found by searching the current site index for “Ministry of Justice”. Every event label links directly to the page containing the source. It avoids duplicating source narratives. It records mention/appearance, not culpability. Dates are transcribed from page titles where available; “Date not explicit in title” means the linked source must be consulted. Search indexing is a discovery aid, not proof of exhaustive external coverage. 🕒10-10-2026
| Date shown by source title | Event / source — open evidence | Record class |
|---|---|---|
| Date not explicit in title | Source Conflicts Register — Where Public-Authority Replies and the Wiki Disagree | Published Wiki evidence page |
| Date not explicit in title | FOI & Public-Authority Reply Register — every reply email and its attachments | Published Wiki evidence page |
| Date not explicit in title | Records Access Chronology | Published Wiki evidence page |
Records-access register appearances — direct row links
Rows below match the institution’s name or an alias in the reply register’s sender/reference or recorded description. A match shows an appearance in the records trail, not necessarily an act by this institution.
| Date | Correspondence / register item (click to open) | Reading rule |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Apr 2026 | R36 — Ministry of Justice, Central Correspondence Team. TO130237 . | Register row contains a name/alias match; inspect the linked row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental mention. |
| 22 Jun – 9 Sep 2026 | R26 — Ministry of Justice (Disclosure Team and HMCTS National Support Unit). References 260607013, 260702090, 260803049, 260805002, 260813002 . | Register row contains a name/alias match; inspect the linked row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental mention. |
| 18 Sep 2026 (forwarded) | R44 — HM Land Registry, Chief Executive & Chief Land Registrar, via Stephen Doughty MP’s office | Register row contains a name/alias match; inspect the linked row to distinguish sender, recipient and incidental mention. |
Related navigation: FOI & Public-Authority Reply Register · Records Access Chronology · Evidence Library
Page version & change log
Current version: 1.0.0
| Version | Date (UTC) | Editor (human or agent name) | Change | Source / evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | 2026-10-18T15:29Z | the editors | Footer standardised; earlier log rows carried into this table; no content change | Editing Protocol, 18 Oct 2026 |
| 2026-10-18 (rollout date; exact time not separately recorded) | OpenAI-assisted maintenance agent (GPT-6) | Installed this page-local append-only change log and agent instructions. Existing page content was not intentionally rewritten. | User-directed site-wide changelog standard. Saved via WordPress API; public rendering of this page not yet independently checked. |
Agents and editors: follow the Editing Protocol.
Case file
This file is built for a future reparations claim. Facts are as the records show them; interpretation is labelled “our reading”. Items marked “not checked” have not been compared with the original record.
(a) Conduct timeline
39 dated interactions, oldest first; 5 automatic acknowledgements are left out. Quotations are verbatim from the institution’s email; where the reply’s substance was an attachment, the email subject is quoted instead.
Show the timeline
| Date | Direction | Reference | Type | Verbatim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 June 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 17 July 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 21 July 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - BP vs Buckler 1987 |
| 28 July 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: A survey about your recent Freedom of Information request |
| 28 July 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - BP vs Buckler 1987 |
| 11 August 2025 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - BP vs Buckler 1987 |
| 28 January 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 28 January 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 18 February 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 22 February 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - Freedom of Information Request – Administrative Records for BP Properties Ltd v Buckler (1974) |
| 26 February 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 26 March 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | When you get there, please update the status to say if the response contains any useful information. |
| 30 March 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - Freedom of Information Request – Administrative Records for BP Properties Ltd v Buckler (1974) |
| 6 April 2026 | received | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: Please update the status of your request - Freedom of Information Request – Administrative Records for BP Properties Ltd v Buckler (1974) |
| 27 April 2026 | received | TO130237 | correspondence (no disclosure) | Please bear that in mind when deciding whether to send material in response to this message by e-mail. |
| 29 April 2026 | sent | — | other | Subject: Re: Reply to your email of September 2025 |
| 29 April 2026 | sent | TO130237 | other | Subject: Ref: TO130237 |
| 7 June 2026 | sent | — | request | Subject: FOI |
| 8 June 2026 | received | — | fee or clarification demand | As you are requesting information which may be held in archived records, we need further information in order to deal with your request. |
| 20 June 2026 | sent | — | chase | Subject: FOI: Great House Farm, Llandough |
| 1 July 2026 | received | 260607013 | fee or clarification demand | We do not use photo ID to confirm your likeness but because the process for obtaining photo ID involves additional safeguards that help us confirm your identity with greater confidence. |
| 1 July 2026 | sent | 260607013 | clarification given | Subject: Re: Buckler - 260607013 - FOI - response |
| 2 July 2026 | received | 260607013 | fee or clarification demand | Please can you send your proof of address in a different format, as we are unable to open it. |
| 2 July 2026 | sent | 260607013 | clarification given | Subject: Re: Buckler - 260607013 - FOI - response |
| 27 July 2026 | sent | — | chase | Subject: Re: FOI |
| 28 July 2026 | received | — | fee or clarification demand | As you are requesting information relating to [name], please can you provide a copy of their death certificate. |
| 3 August 2026 | received | — | subject-access response | Please see the attached response to your request (our reference 260702090 - SAR). |
| 4 August 2026 | received | — | not held | I can confirm we have conducted a search on our internal case management system, which has not produced any results. |
| 4 August 2026 | sent | — | request | Subject: Re: Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff |
| 24 August 2026 | received | — | not held | Destroy/Delete: The record is securely destroyed (paper records shredded; electronic records permanently deleted). |
| 3 September 2026 | received | — | subject-access response | Please see the attached response to your request (our reference 260803049 - SAR). |
| 27 September 2026 | sent | — | clarification given | Subject: Re: FOI — [name] probate records — death certificate enclosed |
| 30 September 2026 | received | — | redirected elsewhere | Subject: RE: FOI — [name] probate records — death certificate enclosed |
| 1 October 2026 | sent | — | other | Subject: Re: FOI — [name] probate records — death certificate enclosed |
| 9 October 2026 | received | 260813002 | complaint outcome | Please find attached a letter with the outcome of the review. |
| 16 October 2026 | received | — | fee or clarification demand | ‘For information on how HMCTS uses personal data about you please see: Am wybodaeth ynghylch sut mae GLlTEF yn defnyddio data personol amdanoch chi, ewch i: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service/about/personal-information-charter |
| 19 October 2026 | sent | IR 260904007 | clarification given | Subject: RE: Preservation notice — Great House Farm (Tŷ Mawr), Llandough — do not destroy records — Matter of public interest |
| 20 October 2026 | received | — | fee or clarification demand | This schedule covers the court/tribunal records and associated administrative records held in the County Court, the Family Court, the Court of Protection and the District Registries of the High Court. |
| 29 October 2026 | sent | — | correspondence (no disclosure) | Subject: FOI |
(b) Inconsistencies and gaps
“Not held” answers set against the duty below
- 4 August 2026: “not held” answer: The records team states no records were found on its case management system and suggests contacting the Land Registry for further information.
- 24 August 2026: “not held” answer: The records team confirms no surviving records, finding aids, or destruction registers were located, citing general retention and destruction procedures.
Missed deadlines
- 3 July 2026: Statutory deadline 3 July 2026 for the request of 20 June 2026: missed (no reply by deadline).
(c) Quarantined-name links
Records on the quarantine register (Kissed Frogs) that sit in, or came from, this institution’s holdings. None is treated as settled.
No quarantined-name record on the register is linked to this institution’s holdings.
(d) Duty and liability — our reading
Liability indicators (our reading): some
- Duty
- Public Records Act 1958 (court and departmental records; selection, retention, transfer); FOIA 2000 (court records are largely exempt under s.32, which narrows what must be released, not what must be kept).
- Indicators the duty was not met
- missed statutory deadlines; “not held” answers.
- Evidence still needed to confirm
- the institution’s retention schedule and disposal record for the series in question; the catalogue or file list it searched; any internal review or complaint outcome.
- Likely extent of exposure if confirmed
- Limited, unless a court record that should have been retained is shown to have been lost or mis-filed.
(e) Evidence still needed
- Inspect the court file or its catalogue entry at the archive holding the court's transferred records. for paid visit list
- Check, in person, the series that would hold what the 4 August 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
- Check, in person, the series that would hold what the 24 August 2026 answer covers. for paid visit list
Versions
| 1.1.0 | 2026-11-01 | Moved to the Forensic Assessments webapp; dated “Since last assessment” section added; response status re-read. |
| 1.0.0 | 2026-10-18 | As published on the Legal Wiki. |