Attorney General

The overall vacancy rate for ‘Crown Prosecutors’* across the 14 regional, geographic areas that make up the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is 4.5% (at the end of December 2025). The table below includes the regional breakdown for CPS vacancy rates applicable to these legal roles.

For context, the vacancy rates are shown alongside the number of vacancies within each geographic area, against the current area Full Time Equivalent (FTE).

*These figures include all legal staff designated as ‘Crown Prosecutors’ only.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information which shows the mean average in calendar days from referral for a charging decision or early advice to the decision to authorise a charge against suspects.

This was 46 days in 2024-25, 44 days in 2023-24, 45 days in 2022-23 and 42 days in 2021-22.

The timeliness data includes cases where the police have submitted a file for early advice as well as those for charging decision. The data includes cases where the police were required to submit further evidence prior to a decision to charge. This generally includes more than one submission and more investigation.

The timeliness of a charging decision is determined by three key factors: whether the case has been sent to the CPS for early advice during the investigative process, how quickly the police can complete the necessary enquiries; and how quickly the CPS can then review the evidence provided by the police and finalise the charging decision.

The SFO’s operational guidance and processes are kept under constant review to ensure they continue to meet operational needs. The SFO’s case selection criteria are established in the Director’s Statement of Principle and ensure that the SFO meets its statutory obligations to investigate and prosecute serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption.

The Law Officers have supervisory oversight of the SFO’s work and regularly assess their operational performance. The SFO’s work is also independently reviewed by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate to ensure that they are following good practice.

I regularly report on the work of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) publicly and in Parliament. This includes highlighting new guidance and casework updates published by the SFO and encouraging reporting of crime, including bribery.

The SFO promotes cooperation from business, including the benefits of self-reporting, and the Director and his senior team speak directly to businesses. The SFO routinely engages with the media to promote the SFO’s work and raise awareness of new publications, including the International Foreign Bribery Taskforce’s indicators of foreign bribery.

The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.

The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:

“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 [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

The CPS does not hold the data requested. To establish whether suspects on cases where immigration offences were considered by reviewing lawyers at pre-charge stage, where then a subsequent no prosecution decision on evidential grounds was made in the last three years, would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.

Information on the number of staff employed by the Law Officers’ Departments on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025

Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web addresses.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/686f95fc10d550c668de3d9c/SFO_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2024-25.pdf

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025

Government Legal Department Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25 - GOV.UK

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

Victim and witness confidence is vital to tackling FGM. While the CPS does not comment on individual publications, prosecutors work closely with police and partners under established FGM joint protocols to provide early advice, safeguarding and sensitive handling of evidence. We recognise that victims rarely use the term “mutilation” themselves; language is often drawn out through expert evidence.

The CPS understands that in some communities FGM is practised with mistaken belief that is will benefit the girl in some way, but this does not detract from the fact that it causes long term harm and trauma to victims and remains a serious criminal offence. The CPS continues to maintain dedicated prosecution guidance and training to ensure cases are built robustly where the legal test is met.

Whilst securing prosecutions is important, protective measures are central to safeguarding victims. Protective measures, such as Forced Marriage Protection Orders, FGM Protection Orders are designed for of these crimes and safeguard them from on-going risk.

FGM is clearly defined in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and CPS prosecutors apply that statutory framework alongside the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS’s prosecution guidance for FGM recognises that expert medical evidence may assist a jury on technical matters; however, alternative terminology used in academic or professional contexts does not alter the offence definitions or the legal tests. Prosecutors assess any expert evidence for relevance, admissibility and weight, and will ensure the statutory terminology is used in court.

The CPS role is to make sure the right person is prosecuted for the right offence. Prosecutors apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors when making charging decisions in all cases, including FGM. The evidential threshold, whether the evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction, requires prosecutors to consider the reliability and credibility of the evidence. Where relevant to a particular case, prosecutors may consider admissible expert medical evidence. However, academic commentary does not change the legal tests or the CPS decision making framework.

Our records indicate that the following number of fiats were granted in each of the last five years:
2021 – 4
2022 – 4
2023 – 11
2024 – 6
2025 – 14 to date.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

No one in the Attorney General’s Office advised against proceeding in these cases for diplomatic (or any other) reasons.

As I set out in my evidence to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on 29 October 2025, in this case, consent to prosecute was given on 3 April 2024 by the then Solicitor General. Following that date, no Law Officer intervened in the case at any stage.

The decision to offer no evidence in this case was made by the CPS without input or advice from the Law Officers.

Decisions to not proceed because of evidential reasons are made independently by the CPS. The requirement on the CPS is to inform the Attorney General of the decision after it has been taken, not to consult prior to that decision.

The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.

Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.

Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

Bigamy is an offence contrary to section.57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and is prosecuted as such. The CPS has not issued and has no plans to issue specific guidance.

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued proceedings under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, in relation to one case, since it was commenced on 31 October 2024.

As a former Home Secretary, she will understand that the Government cannot comment on any live investigations or criminal proceedings.

To assist with my oversight of the Serious Fraud Office, I hold regular superintendence meetings with the SFO’s executive team to keep me appraised of relevant SFO casework matters.

The SFO is a relatively small, highly specialised government department that is permitted by law to investigate only the most serious and complex cases of fraud and bribery affecting the UK.

Decisions on which cases to investigate are taken independently by the SFO, with the Director determining whether to authorise an investigation in accordance with the criteria set out in the Director’s Statement of Principle.

The AGO has not made any direct ministerial appointments.

The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of office attendance rates. Office attendance is monitored at a local level.

In June 2025 the CPS began a pilot in the West Midlands which offers victims of rape and serious sexual assault the opportunity to have a separate prosecutor review the case before any final decision is taken to stop the case in court. If that prosecutor concludes that the Full Code Test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors is met, the case will continue.

The number of decisions eligible for review under the pilot have so far been low. These volumes have meant an evaluation of the pilot has not been possible to date. Evaluation is essential, and the pilot will continue to allow enough evidence to be gathered to assess its effectiveness.

Consideration is also being given to expanding the pilot to support a thorough evaluation.

The Attorney sits on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.

Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers' Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

This protects the Law Officers’ ability as chief legal advisers to the Government to give full and frank legal advice and provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.

The Law Officer Departments have a capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) as follows:

2025-26 – 0.1b

2026-27 – 0.1b

2027-28 – 0.1b

2028-29 – 0.2b

2029-30 – 0.0b

Future years CDEL allocations are subject to planning in the usual way.

The department has no spend on LinkedIn membership fees, and has a total spend in 2024/25 of £4,322.00 on other subscriptions.

The SFO has sponsored three visas for staff since July 2024.

The UK-France Treaty is an innovative pilot designed to deter illegal migration across the Channel. Litigation related to this pilot was anticipated and we are concentrating resources on robustly defending this so that removals can continue as planned. As of 28 November, 153 individuals have been returned to France through this agreement.

Operational details on the pilot are sensitive, and we will not be disclosing such information as it could inadvertently assist the organised immigration crime gangs that are behind small boats crossings.

Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis, including by organisation and by absence reason. I refer you to the statistics publicly available which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next release is likely to be around 18 December 2025.

From 1 April 2009 up to 31 March 2025, manual records indicate there have been 199 cases referred to the CPS by law enforcement partners that have been recorded as encouraging or assisting suicide. The DPP has provided consent to prosecute in six cases. Five of these cases have been successfully prosecuted, and one was acquitted after trial. These figures are published on the CPS website and will next be updated in April 2026.

The Crown Prosecution Service makes prosecution decisions independently.

CPS prosecutors are committed to protecting the principles of free expression and to prosecuting objectively and fairly, in accordance with the two-stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

This Labour government is committed to bringing back control and fairness to our border.

By long-standing convention, the fact that I, or a fellow Law Officer, may have advised or not advised, as well as the content of our advice, is not disclosed outside government.

As explained in Erskine May: “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 [5.14] of the Ministerial Code. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

Acting recklessly with or throwing fireworks can cause life-changing injuries. These actions can result in criminal prosecution and/or civil liability, depending on whether the injury was caused deliberately, recklessly or negligently.

There are numerous offences this can fall under, including: s.39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (common assault/battery) or from the+ Offences against the Person Act 1861: s47 (assault occasioning actual bodily harm), s20 (wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm), s18 (wounding/causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm), s28 (grievous bodily harm by the unlawful explosion of gunpowder or other explosive substance), s29 (unlawfully causing gunpowder or some other explosive substance to explode with intent to cause grievous bodily harm). The charge chosen will depend on the facts and circumstances of the case and the level of injury caused.

During the most recently available 12 months (ending June 2025) management information shows that a total of 102,493 offences charged by way of the above legislation, commenced prosecution in magistrates’ courts. Of these charges the CPS is unable to identify which offences specifically involved fireworks as opposed to physical assaults or the use of other types of weapons, without a manual review of each case, which would incur disproportionate cost.

If an injury is caused through negligence (e.g. due to an accident at a private or publicly organised display) the person who set off the firework (or the event organiser/landowner) may be sued for damages in a civil court. Information on proceedings in civil courts is held by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

The Government Legal Department has not incurred any translation and interpretation services costs in the last five years.

There has been a significant increase in demand, as well as costs for translation services post Covid. This has led to a necessary increase in expenditure on translation and interpretation services. We continue to regularly monitor expenditure to ensure best value for money for taxpayers.

Crown Prosecution Service has spent the following on translation and interpretation services over the last five financial years:

Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for our independent judiciary. Sentencers must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, issued by the Sentencing Council, unless not in the interests of justice to do so. The guidelines provide a structured approach for sentencers to follow and are designed to help enhance consistency and transparency in sentencing.

The Sentencing Council keeps the guidelines under review continuously. Cases will vary widely in seriousness and complexity. Constantly evolving case law also helps to shape and influence how these are applied.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme allows Law Officers to ask the Court of Appeal to review exceptional cases where there has been a gross error, or the sentence is unduly lenient.

The Sentencing Council itself is within the policy area of the MOJ and my office, with its public interest role in bringing justice in qualifying cases only, is necessarily independent of it.

Almost all the SFO’s cases are connected to other jurisdictions and often include overseas suspects or witnesses and involve significant amounts of evidential material. This means that it needs to make use of translation services in its work. We regularly monitor expenditure to ensure best value for money for taxpayers.

Its expenditure on translation services is contained in the following table.

The SFO has not made use of any interpretation services in the last five financial years.

By long-standing convention, the fact that I, or a fellow Law Officer, may have advised or not advised, as well as the content of our advice, is not disclosed outside government.

As explained in Erskine May: “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 [5.14] of the Ministerial Code. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence."

The Law Officers are aware of the possibility of a private prosecution, but have not engaged in discussions on its potential merits with any representative of the House of Commons.

The review into the future publication of the Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list is nearing completion, and publication will remain suspended until it has concluded.

The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities since 4 July 2024.

The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.

The Department has not made an estimate of the difference in capital cost between the electric vehicles purchased and comparable petrol or diesel models.

While the outcome in this case is of course very disappointing, I am also confident that the National Security Act 2023, which was not in force at the time of the conduct concerned, now provides us with enhanced powers that properly reflect the modern-day threats we face.

There is now a wealth of material and evidence, including from the Attorney General, which has been provided to the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy’s inquiry into these matters and which cover the requests for evidence and responses provided.

Offences relating to the dangerous use or misuse of fireworks can be prosecuted under Section

80 of the Explosives Act 1875 (throw or light a firework in a highway, street or public place),

Section 131(1(d)) and Section 161(2(b)) of Highways Act 1980 (light a fire/discharge a

firework/firearm within 50 feet of a public highway), Section 28 of the Town and Police Clauses

Act 1847 (throw a firework/missile/discharge a firearm/light a fire in the street) and Section 2 of

the Football (Offences) Act 1991 (throw a missile onto a football pitch or adjacent area).

Management information is held by the CPS showing the number of offences in which a

prosecution commenced during each of the last five years for the above legislation.

Of these charges the CPS is unable to identify which offences specifically involved fireworks as

opposed to other types of missiles, without a manual review of each case, which would incur

disproportionate cost.

There is no indication of the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at

the time of finalisation. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than

one offence.

The Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) Scheme is an important safeguard in England and Wales which enables victims to seek a review of certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution.

Access to the VRR Scheme has been deliberately designed to be as simple as possible, with no reasons or justification for requesting a review required.

To ensure victims are aware of their entitlements, in all correspondence where a decision is taken to stop a case, and the victim is eligible to request a review under the VRR scheme, information is provided about the VRR scheme and how it can be accessed.

The CPS also has published and keeps under regular review guidance which sets out how the scheme works, including what decisions can be reviewed, who can request a review, how to request a review and the stages of review.

The CPS publishes data showing the number of VRR requests it received and the total number of decisions which were overturned as a result.

In addition to the VRR scheme, there is also a VRR pilot being trialled by CPS West Midlands which was launched in June 2025. Under the pilot, survivors of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right to request a review by a different prosecutor before their case is dropped. The results of this pilot will soon be evaluated.

There is no single budget ring-fenced for direct engagement with (a) civil society groups and (b) young people within the Attorney General's Office as a department. Ministers and officials meet with many civil society groups and young people as you would expect, in line with workstream priorities, and these are declared and publicised in the normal way. For example, the Attorney General was pleased to attend a recent event at Cumberland Lodge to engage with young people learning about human rights and looks forward to undertaking a series of school visits in due course.