Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 27 April (HL16376), what specific criteria ministers are required to apply when determining whether a proposed reporting or consultation requirement meets the Government's âhigher barâ for inclusion in new legislation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
The starting point will be that requirements are in legislation by exception. Then going forward, formal consultation should only take place where there is still a statutory requirement to consult, where it would be conspicuously unfair not to consult, or where Ministers believe there is a good case for seeking external input and that the right vehicle for doing so is a formal consultation. Even where departments have historically consulted or previously promised to consult, it is expected that each individual instance to be considered afresh, thinking about what is fair in the particular circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether departments are required to record formally how a proposed statutory reporting or consultation requirement has satisfied the Government's âhigher barâ; and whether that assessment will be included in explanatory notes or impact assessments accompanying legislation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
At present there is no intention to require an assessment of statutory reporting or consultation duties in explanatory notes or impact assessments accompanying legislation. Alongside the changes to consultation duties, we will encourage more participatory and collaborative methods to ensure the public's views are meaningfully embedded throughout the policy-making process.Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 27 April (HL16377), how the artificial intelligence tool developed by Cabinet Office and No.10 defines "disproportionate" reporting and consultation duties; and on what data or criteria the tool was trained to make that determination.
Answered by Lord Hermer
The AI tool identifies solely the reporting and consultation duties, it does not specify whether they are âdisproportionateâ or not. The policy development around this is ongoing; decisions on proportionality remain the purview of ministers.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 27 April (HL16377), whether the artificial intelligence tool developed by the Cabinet Office and No.10 to identify disproportionate reporting and consultation duties was piloted in any departments before being rolled out; and if so, what the results of that pilot were.
Answered by Lord Hermer
The AI tool was developed to identify reporting and consultation duties in the statute book. The tool does not indicate whether the duties are useful, or unnecessary. It was tested on a small data set across the statute book. The dataset included legislation from multiple departments and performed with very high accuracy, rather than being piloted on a single department. The tool has since been applied to the wider statute book.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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 Ministerâs Priorities. The Cabinet Office, led by the Cabinet Secretary, will be responsible for assessing departmental performance against the new framework.