Attorney General

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Following the dissolution of the last Parliament on 30 May 2024 and before the General Election on 4 July 2024, and prior to the appointment of the Attorney General and I, officials in the Attorney General’s Office arranged for the two ministerial offices to be modestly refurbished. The refurbishment was completed on 30 June 2024 and the costs are set out below.

Strengthening the criminal justice system response to domestic abuse and increasing victim confidence are crucial to achieving this Government’s ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls this decade.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes prosecuting domestic abuse very seriously and maintains a steady charge rate of over 75% and a conviction rate of approximately 76%.

Next month, in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the CPS will publish a national joint justice plan to transform how cases of domestic abuse are prosecuted and handled. The plan recognises that better communication between the CPS and NPCC improves case outcomes for victims. Additionally, through its Victim Transformation Programme the CPS is improving the service it provides to victims of crime.

The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners who commission community-based support services for domestic abuse victims and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Act) aims to improve support for victims of domestic abuse by placing a duty on local commissioners in England to collaborate when commissioning services for victims of domestic abuse. The duty will require commissioners to assess the needs of victims of domestic abuse in their area and produce a joint local commissioning strategy. The Act will also improve awareness of and compliance with the Victims’ Code, which supports victims of crime to understand what they can expect from the criminal justice system and sets out the minimum level of service that victims should receive.

The Home Office will also ensure that there are specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force and police officers receive stronger training on racism and violence against women and girls.

Public confidence in the criminal justice is underpinned by access to swift justice. It is critical that cases progress through the system as quickly as possible, both before and after a charge is made. Improving timeliness and reducing the backlogs of outstanding cases are a priority for me and for this Government.

I will of course be holding discussions about these issues with the Crown Prosecution Service, with a view to making systemic improvements as quickly as possible.

It is a long-standing convention that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority. This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention, is provided for in paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May, and applies to your question.

Paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May states:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and it applies to your question.

The Bona Vacantia Division (“the Division”) of the Government Legal Department acts on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor (the Crown’s Nominee for bona vacantia).

The Division is currently dealing with 380 freehold titles which appear to have vested as bona vacantia following dissolution via striking off by the Registrar of Companies or formal liquidation.

Freehold titles from companies dissolved following liquidation are less likely to vest as bona vacantia as they are normally disposed of prior to dissolution by the Insolvency Practitioner.

Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data.

Details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.

Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, Attorney General’s Office and Crown Prosecution Service employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.

No appointments to civil service posts in the Attorney General’s Office, excluding special advisers, have been made without open competition since 4 July 2024.

Management information is held showing the number of cases with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which are awaiting a pre-charge decision.

The overall number of cases which were awaiting a charging decision or administrative triage (completed on files sent by the police to the CPS for a charging decision) as of 25 March 2024 was 13,697. This data is provided in line with the last quarterly data release in March 2024. The next quarterly release is due on 17 October 2024 which will be available on the CPS website at CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

These figures do not include cases that have been referred to the CPS but that are currently with the police to action, having been sent back to them with a request for further information.

This count is of the number of cases, not suspects. A single case may cover one suspect or several. No data is available in the report showing whether the alleged offences are summary, either-way or indictable only. To obtain this information would require a manual review at disproportionate cost.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors makes clear that, when making decisions, prosecutors must be fair and objective and act in the interests of justice. To maintain transparency around its legal decision-making, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has integrated several processes into its working practices to ensure that victims are informed about decisions and the support available to them.

Since January 2020, the CPS has published quarterly bulletins of data tables and summaries of main trends as part of the CPS’s commitment to transparency on prosecution performance, which contain performance data on overall prosecution figures, police referrals, and charging rates in a range of offence types. These can be found here: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Transparency is important in particular for victims. Under the Victim Communication and Liaison scheme, in certain circumstances the CPS communicates directly with victims to explain its legal decision-making for charging. It also provides enhanced services to bereaved families of victims, including meetings to explain its legal decisions. To improve this offer, the CPS is testing direct communication of its charging decisions in a small number of regional areas, using victims’ preferred method of contact.

Victims may also seek a review of certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution, under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme.

The CPS also engages with communities impacted by hate crime and Violence Against Women and Girls through convening Local Scrutiny Involvement Panels. These panels enable the CPS to explain its role in the criminal justice system and how prosecutors make charging decisions.

The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles to its ministerial cadre/officials, as under previous administrations.

The Attorney General’s Office is currently allocated two vehicles including allocated and shared vehicles.

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The average cost to a department for a single DPC (Department Pool Car) in 2024/25 financial years is £108K per annum.

The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles.

The arrangements relating to the using of vehicles in the Government Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

There has been no change in this policy since the general election.

No direct ministerial appointments to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) or the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, Government Legal Department, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) have been made or removed or asked to resign since 4 July 2024. While not direct ministerial appointments, the Law Officers and the Law Officers’ Departments routinely seek advice from outside experts on the law, including counsel, solicitors or academic specialists. Arrangements for using counsel, solicitors and academics are principally via panels of counsel, panels of law firms or their academic institutions.

As regards public appointments, following an open competition, two non-executive directors were appointed by the Attorney General to the board of the Serious Fraud Office on 1 October 2024. More information can be found here: Serious Fraud Office welcomes two new non-executive directors - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk).

No other public appointments to the AGO and Law Officers’ Departments have been made or removed or asked to resign since 4 July 2024

Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code states: ‘the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority’. This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention, and it applies to your question.

Management information is held showing the number of cases with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which are awaiting a pre-charge decision.

The table below shows the overall number of cases which were awaiting a charging decision or administrative triage (completed on files sent by the police to the CPS for a charging decision) as of 25 March 2024. This data is provided in line with the last quarterly data release in March 2024.

These figures do not include cases that have been referred to the CPS but that are currently with the police to action, having been sent back to them with a request for further information.

This count is of the number of cases, not suspects. A single case may cover one suspect or several.

No data is available in the report showing whether the alleged offences are summary, either-way or indictable only. To obtain this information would require a manual review at disproportionate cost.

This Government is committed to halving knife crime in the next decade as set out in our Safer Streets Mission.

From Tuesday 24 September, it will be illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes as they will be added to the list of dangerous prohibited items already banned, including zombie knives, butterfly knives, Samurai swords, and push daggers. The Government will also legislate to ban ninja swords and strengthen rules to prevent online sales of knives.

The Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs’ Council also work closely to prevent and tackle knife crime. Guidance setting out their joint approach to knife crime offending can be found here: Offensive Weapons, Knife Crime Practical Guidance | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code states: ‘the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority’. This is known as the Law Officers’ Convention. Authority to make such disclosures is rarely given.

Details of ministerial severance payments are published in the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Report and Accounts. These can be found here: Transparency andfreedom of information releases - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

I confirm that over the period 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024, the following payments were made:

The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Cox KC MP – £23,612 (February 2020)

The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC – £14,490 (August 2022)

Edward Timpson CBE KC – £14,490 (October 2022)

The Rt Hon Sir Michael Ellis KC – £23,612 (November 2022)

Information on any payments from 31 May 2024 will be released in due course.

All severance payments were made under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, which provides for severance payments to ministers who cease to hold office and are not re-appointed to government within three weeks. This reflects the lack of any notice period when ministers leave government.

The Law Officers’ role in respect of assessing exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) for papers of a previous administration is set out at paragraph 11.24 of the Cabinet Manual:

“When a decision is required on the application of sections 36 or 53 of the FOI Act to papers of a previous administration, the Attorney General will act, as appropriate, as the accountable person for all government departments under section 53 and a Law Officer will act as the qualified person under section 36.”

Once an assessment is made it is returned to the relevant department who then apply the public interest test (where applicable). Any appeals or tribunal proceedings would be for the relevant department.

The Law Officers’ Convention, reflected in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, is a long-standing convention observed by successive governments. It exists to preserve the ability of the Government and ministers to seek the advice of the Law Officers and not to be disadvantaged by disclosing when they have done so, and what advice they received.

As you may know, on some occasions the Government has published summaries of its legal position on specific matters, for example, on military activity in the Red Sea (see here: Summary of the UK Government Legal Position: The legality of UK military action to target Houthi facilities in Yemen on 12 January 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

As of this date, I can confirm that, excluding special advisers, the Attorney General and I have not made any direct statutory or non-statutory ministerial appointments.

Of course, the Law Officers and wider government legal teams for which they are responsible do make use of outside experts on the law, whether counsel, law firms or academic specialists. Arrangements for using counsel or academics are principally through the Attorney General’s panels and an off-panel nomination process or via their academic institution, whereas law firms are principally instructed through a panel firm procurement process.

Good quality prosecutorial advocacy underpins our ability to deliver timely justice. The criminal justice system needs a resilient supply of advocates – both prosecution and defence – and the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) recognises that this is currently proving challenging, particularly in rape cases. Addressing this shortfall is a priority for the CPS.

The CPS Advocate Panel is a time-limited quality-assured list of external junior advocates – self-employed barristers and solicitor agents – who undertake criminal prosecution advocacy for the CPS.

There are currently around 770 advocates on the CPS’ specialist Advocate Panel for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (the “RASSO Panel”). Whilst there has been a decline in numbers over the past five years, there has been a notable increase of just under 100 RASSO Panel advocates during the last 12 months.

Notwithstanding this increase, with RASSO caseloads at record levels, further action is needed to drive up numbers to provide sufficient counsel. The CPS has taken steps to do so, which have included revising the entry requirements for the RASSO Panel, moving away from a written application for experienced advocates but still requiring them to have completed CPS-accredited RASSO training (or commit to do so within 3 months). A further change to support the progression of advocates into RASSO work and improving the pipeline will be announced later this month.

The CPS is also working with the Bar to improve the provision of RASSO training, to support wellbeing, and to promote the fact that – notwithstanding the challenges – RASSO work can be hugely fulfilling and support career progression.

I work closely with other government departments, including the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, to support the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) mission to tackle fraud. My department will continue to support this mission through our superintendence of the SFO. I visited the SFO earlier this month to learn about their important work to deliver justice for victims of economic crime and protect the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business.

The SFO works effectively with other law enforcement agencies through the National Economic Crime Centre to collectively co-ordinate the UK’s response to fraud. Earlier this year this co-ordination led to the National Crime Agency arresting four individuals following an SFO search of three sites in relation to an investigation into an alleged £140m investment fraud.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) receives its human resources shared service from the Government Legal Department (GLD). The GLD are signed up as Disability Confident and have progressed through the levels, achieving Disability Confident Leader (Level 3) status.

Please note that, excluding the GLD, I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by myself and the Attorney General (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, and Serious Fraud Office).

As per my previous answer to UIN 25822 tabled on Thursday 16 May, and as reflected in the Ministerial Code, I do not confirm publicly whether I or any other Law Officer has advised on a particular issue or the content of any advice, save where I, as a Law Officer, explicitly consent. That consent is rarely given.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Category of Homicide at completion of prosecution. Please note that homicide consists of a range of offences, including, among others:

• Murder
• Attempted murder
• Conspiring or soliciting to commit murder
• Manslaughter (corporate, gross negligence, unlawful act)
• Infanticide
• Child destruction
• Aiding or assisting suicide
• Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult
• Causing death by careless or dangerous driving
• Manslaughter due to diminished responsibility
• Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking

The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for homicide from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

The Immigration Act 1971 (the Act) sets out offences for illegal entry, illegal working, and assisting unlawful immigration into the United Kingdom.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information showing the number of offences charged by way of section 24 (illegal entry/arrival), section 25 (assisting unlawful immigration to member State or the UK), section 25A (helping an asylum-seeker to enter the UK), and section 25B (assisting entry to the UK in breach of deportation or exclusion order) of the Act in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing at a magistrates’ court.

The table attached shows the number of these offences from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015.

The CPS does not hold data which shows the number of defendants charged with, prosecuted, and convicted for offences created by the Act. The figures in the table relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. An individual defendant may be charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data is held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at completion of prosecution.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Category of Burglary at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for burglary from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for all crimes prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters and has been drawn from the CPS’ Case Management System.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a formal definition for ‘violent crime’, but it does hold management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Categories of either Homicide or Offences Against the Person at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for Homicide and Offences Against the Person from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the tables is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

Homicide

Offences against the person

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a Case Management System (CMS) which shows the number of defendants where a flag for rape has been added. This flag is applied at the onset of any case referred by the police to the CPS for a charge of rape and remains in place even if the charge is not proceeded with, is amended, or dropped. If a case is referred by the police for a charge other than rape, but subsequently a charge of rape is preferred, the flag is applied at that point.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions in cases where a flag for rape has been added, from 1 April 2006 to the end of September 2015 by quarter. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

The CPS’ CMS was introduced during 2004-2005. A national monitoring flag to manage cases where rape offences were referred or later charged was introduced from 1 April 2006. As with any new monitoring system, some variance is expected in the periods immediately following the introduction of a new flagging process.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Category of Sexual Offences at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

I wrote to you on this important subject on Friday 17 May 2024. For completeness, I set out my full written response below.

Tackling violence that disproportionately impacts women and girls remains one of this government’s top priorities. Women and girls should be able to go about their lives without being subjected to unwanted sexual images. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.

As you know, this government has recently enacted new offences designed to tackle online offending through the Online Safety Act 2023. This includes the offence of cyberflashing and other intimate image offences.

The CPS has welcomed the enactment of these new offences designed to target predatory behaviour and non-contact sexual offences. It has introduced comprehensive updates to prosecution guidance to support prosecutors to better recognise behaviour-driven and escalating offending. Additionally, it has published ‘Communications Offences’ legal guidance which includes online offences relating to violence against women and girls.

Whilst this legislation is still new, the police are referring more cases to the CPS for charging decisions and I can confirm the CPS secured their first conviction for cyberflashing in February 2024, resulting in the offender being jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court. I am unable to provide detail on any other cases where there may be live criminal proceedings.

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with data on prosecutions under the Online Safety Act yet. However, in July the CPS will publish its next data summary covering the period January to March 2024 and after this summary release, more granular data may be shared publicly. This pause ahead of publishing data allows for quality assurance checks and internal scrutiny before publication.

I wrote to you on this important subject on Friday 17 May 2024. For completeness, I set out my full written response below.

Tackling violence that disproportionately impacts women and girls remains one of this government’s top priorities. Women and girls should be able to go about their lives without being subjected to unwanted sexual images. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.

As you know, this government has recently enacted new offences designed to tackle online offending through the Online Safety Act 2023. This includes the offence of cyberflashing and other intimate image offences.

The CPS has welcomed the enactment of these new offences designed to target predatory behaviour and non-contact sexual offences. It has introduced comprehensive updates to prosecution guidance to support prosecutors to better recognise behaviour-driven and escalating offending. Additionally, it has published ‘Communications Offences’ legal guidance which includes online offences relating to violence against women and girls.

Whilst this legislation is still new, the police are referring more cases to the CPS for charging decisions and I can confirm the CPS secured their first conviction for cyberflashing in February 2024, resulting in the offender being jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court. I am unable to provide detail on any other cases where there may be live criminal proceedings.

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with data on prosecutions under the Online Safety Act yet. However, in July the CPS will publish its next data summary covering the period January to March 2024 and after this summary release, more granular data may be shared publicly. This pause ahead of publishing data allows for quality assurance checks and internal scrutiny before publication.

I have not had any discussions with the Government of South Africa on this legal case.

With respect to discussions with Cabinet colleagues, the Law Officers’ Convention requires that it is not generally disclosed outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a long-standing principle of Cabinet collective agreement which enables the government of the day to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.

I cannot answer your question as to do so would be in breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.

Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code clearly states that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.

It would not be possible to determine the number of cases involving the illegal importation of Russian oil referred by HM Revenue & Customs to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The Attorney General was last briefed on this matter by the Crown Prosecution Service on 30 April 2024.

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.