Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics are available comparing prosecution rates for crimes recorded in (1) rural, and (2) urban, locations.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

This Government is committed to protecting our rural communities, as well as tackling crimes that predominantly affect these communities, such as machinery theft. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.

The CPS provides legal guidance on Rural crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases. They also provide specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.

The CPS does not hold any central record of prosecutions for crimes recorded in either rural or urban areas. In the most recent twelve months (ending March 2025) the CPS completed prosecutions in respect of 449,573 defendants and to identify which of these prosecutions relate to criminal activity in rural or urban locations would require a manual review of each case and this would be at a disproportionate cost.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2025 - 2028 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to provide a dedicated and tailored support for rural communities and those who live and work within them. This strategy is a key step in our mission to deliver safer streets applies to all communities, urban and rural, across the country

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) prosecutions, (2) CPS referrals, (3) acquittals, and (4) convictions there have been under (a) sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, and (b) the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, for each of the last 10 years for which data are available.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants prosecuted, referred, acquitted, or convicted of offences created by s58-59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and s1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. To establish number and outcomes of prosecutions where these offences were charged would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.

Management information is available which shows the number of offences of charged by way of Sections 58 and 59 (administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion / procuring drugs, instruments to cause abortion) and Section 1 (child destruction) in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1^st April 2015 to 31^st March 2025.

The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 115462 on Sovereignty: Chagos Islands, how many times has the Attorney General met with Dapo Akande.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Attorney and Dapo have met on 5 occasions, including the Attorney General endorsing Dapo Akande’s candidacy to be a judge to the International Court of Justice.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements for managing unclaimed estates and properties under Bona Vacantia.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The collection and disposal of bona vacantia monies arising from the estates of deceased people & dissolved companies is managed by the Treasury Solicitor as the Crown’s Nominee, with the proceeds passing each year to HM Treasury. Such arrangements are set out in the Crown’s Nominee Account which is laid annually before Parliament.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming Bona Vacantia arrangements to permit local authorities to take ownership of unclaimed residential properties for public use.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The revenue from the collection of bona vacantia, including that from the open market sales of any residential property, is transferred annually to the Consolidated Fund for the general funding of HM Government expenditure for the general benefit of all citizens.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.

A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments.

ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how many prosecutions there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The At-Home Early Medical Abortion or EMA (known as the “pills by post” scheme), was implemented to allow eligible individuals to receive medication to terminate a pregnancy of less than 10 weeks via post after a telephone or video consultation. Introduced in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to improve access to care, the scheme was made permanent in August 2022.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of prosecutions for offences relating to the illegal use of medication expressly procured to cause an abortion. To establish number and outcomes of prosecutions where relevant offences relating to the misuse of medication were prosecuted would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.

Management information is available which shows the number of offences charged by way of Sections 58 and 59 (administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion / procuring drugs, instruments to cause abortion) and Section 1 (child destruction) in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2025.

The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost to the Crown Prosecution Service to date of (1) bringing the initial prosecution against Hamit Coskun, (2) defending that prosecution at Southwark Crown Court, and (3) the appeal of his acquittal in the High Court.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is rightly operationally independent from Government. All decisions for prosecutions and appeals are therefore taken independently, without political interference.

In the magistrates’ court, the cost of proceedings came to £4,111.44

In the Crown Court, the cost of the Appeal came to £912.00

These are the costs of external counsel.

For High Court proceedings, as of 26 February 2026, a total of £13,983.60 has been spent on external counsel advocacy.

CPS have been ordered to pay the Respondent’s costs (Mr Coskun) for the CPS appeal hearing – total of £27,982.86.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the evidential requirements applied to planning applicants claiming exemption from the mandatory biodiversity gain condition under Article 7 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Solicitor General has not had any such discussions.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of proposed exemptions to Biodiversity Net Gain requirements on the Government’s statutory environmental targets.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Solicitor General has had no such discussions.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, if she will publish the number of cases and the relevant offences for cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in each year between 2015 and 2025.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not publish official statistics. Official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and Office for National Statistics. Official statistics relating to criminal courts including caseload, timeliness, convictions, and sentencing outcomes are maintained by the Ministry of Justice. However, since January 2020, the CPS has published quarterly bulletins of data tables and summaries of main trends as part of the CPS’s ongoing commitment to transparency on prosecution performance – available here: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, if she will publish the number of cases and the relevant offences for cases prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in each year between 2015 and 2025.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not publish official statistics. Official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and Office for National Statistics. Official statistics relating to criminal courts including caseload, timeliness, convictions, and sentencing outcomes are maintained by the Ministry of Justice. However, since January 2020, the CPS has published quarterly bulletins of data tables and summaries of main trends as part of the CPS’s ongoing commitment to transparency on prosecution performance – available here: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what evidence her Department submitted to the Office for National Statistics' review of the ethnicity harmonised standard, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

An initial response to the public consultation is due to be published in April, followed by a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026. This report will include all formal responses to the consultation, and the names of the organisations that responded.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Government Legal Service publication, “the Judge over your shoulder”, para 3.15, what supplementary advice or guidance have the Law Officers or GLS given on whether a reconsideration of a Ministerial decision requires a new Minister to take the fresh decision.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

With reference to the publication, JOYS: The Judge Over Your Shoulder, the Government Legal Department is not aware of any supplementary advice or guidance on whether a reconsideration of a Ministerial decision requires a new Minister to take the fresh decision.

In addition, it is a longstanding convention that whether the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed outside government without their authority

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Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Prime Minister, (b) Cabinet colleagues, (c) senior civil servants and (d) the Attorney General on the legality of authorising the United States to launch offensive military operations from RAF Fairford.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

UK bases were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran. Permissions to utilise UK military bases are considered on a case-by-case basis and the decision to grant permission is dependent on the nature and purpose of their activity.

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