Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Hermer on 26 March (HLWS1472), which departments will be required to use artificial intelligence to "identify existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties" in existing legislation; what timeline has been set for completing that work; and what steps will be taken once disproportionate duties are identified.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The AI tool has been developed centrally by Cabinet Office and No.10 to identify consultation and reporting duties. We expect all departments to use the tool to identify existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties, unless there is a justifiable reason not to. Timelines and next steps will be announced in due course.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Hermer on 26 March (HLWS1472), when the new departmental accountability framework will be introduced; who will assess departmental performance against those new frameworks; and what consequences will follow if the targets and expectations in those frameworks are not met.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The new departmental accountability framework has been launched to permanent secretaries for the year 2026-27 and they have started to set objectives against it. The Cabinet Office, led by the Cabinet Secretary, will be responsible for assessing departmental performance against the new framework.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Hermer on 26 March (HLWS1472), how they will define and set the higher bar for including reporting and consultation requirements in new legislation; and who will apply that test.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

Consultation should only be used when it is the most effective tool for good policymaking, including where fairness requires it, and not used for other reasons. Reporting requirements should not disproportionately slow down delivery. Decisions remain the purview of ministers.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Hermer on 26 March (HLWS1472), which of the Prime Minster's priorities will be given measurable targets in the new accountability framework.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The new departmental accountability framework has been launched to permanent secretaries for the year 2026-27 and they have started to set objectives against it, taking into account the Prime Minister’s Priorities. The Cabinet Office, led by the Cabinet Secretary, will be responsible for assessing departmental performance against the new framework.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111851 on Law Officers: Equality, whether her Department's document entitled Attorney General's Guidance on Legal Risk, published on 6 November 2024, will be updated to reflect the proposed socio-economic duty when enacted.

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

The public sector duty regarding socio-economic inequalities is not yet in force in England. Once in force, the duty will require public authorities (including the Law Officers), when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise their functions, to have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage.

The Attorney General’s Guidance on legal risk is intended to assist lawyers and others advising on lawfulness and legal risk in government, by setting out a common framework to assess risk. At such time that the duty comes into force, the Law Officers will have due regard to it in deciding whether any updates to this guidance are required.

Found: Such a referral can be made by the Advocate General for Scotland, the Lord Advocate or the Attorney General

Found: Fraud Office (SFO) is a non-ministerial Government department under the superintendence of the Attorney General

Found: Ministerial responsibility lies with the Attorney General.

Found: manslaughter and rape, if those offences were committed in the UK, without the consent of the Attorney General

Found: If you agree, I will write to the Home Secretary and the Attorney General, who are also responsible

Found: Providing Safeguards for Veterans 24) The Associations have met with staff at No10, the Attorney General

Found: Desmond Swayne: There is a number of crimes for which prosecution requires the authority of the Attorney-General

Found: cannot take legal action against overcrowding in council housing without the consent of the Attorney General

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the legal basis is for allowing UK forces to interdict sanctioned shadow fleet vessels transiting UK territorial waters; and whether that legal basis has been confirmed in writing by the Attorney General.

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

UK forces operate in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and domestic law.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that coronial complaints procedures are independent and transparent; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of measures in place to prevent conflicts of interest within that process.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones

Coroners are independent judges, but operational responsibility for coroner services lies with the lead local authorities which fund and administer of each of the 74 coroner areas in England and Wales. Whist the framework of accountability in the coronial jurisdiction is therefore complex, it is nevertheless robust and transparent.

Complaints about the standard of service provided in the context of a coroner’s investigation should be raised in the first instance with the coroner’s office and/or with the funding local authority. If the complainant remains dissatisfied, the matter can be reported to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (https://www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint), which aims to provide a remedy to complaints through impartial and fair investigation.

The Ombudsman cannot investigate a coroner’s decisions as an independent judge. However, these can be challenged through the judicial review process or, in some circumstances, by applying to the Attorney General for leave to apply to the High Court for a fresh inquest.

Complaints about the personal conduct of coroners should be made to the independent Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/).

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