Found: powers, such as Henry VIII clauses, including from parliamentary committees.398 In October 2024, Lord Hermer

Found: powers, such as Henry VIII clauses, including from parliamentary committees.398 In October 2024, Lord Hermer

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 1 June (HL104), whether the Attorney General has received backdated payments since July 2024 relating to his past legal work as a barrister in Matrix Chambers, including payments relating to clients on no-win-no-fee conditional fee agreements.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

As has previously been set out to the house both in January 2025 and in June 2025, there is an established rigorous system in place within the Attorney General’s Office to ensure that a Law Officer would not be consulted on any matter that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest.

This process also sits alongside the established system in place for declaration Ministerial Interests. I confirm that my relevant interests have been published for the public record, including my previous employment at Matrix Chambers.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 4 February (HL13872), whether the Attorney General has recused himself on matters relating to that International Court of Justice arrest warrant.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

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

Indicating whether or not the Law Officers have recused themselves from a particular matter would itself breach the Law Officers’ Convention.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 1 June (HL104), whether there are details of financial interests which the Attorney General has declared to his Permanent Secretary or the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards but which have not been published in the List of Ministers' Interests.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

As has previously been set out to the house both in January 2025 and in June 2025, there is an established rigorous system in place within the Attorney General’s Office to ensure that a Law Officer would not be consulted on any matter that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest.

This process also sits alongside the established system in place for declaration Ministerial Interests. I confirm that my relevant interests have been published for the public record, including my previous employment at Matrix Chambers.

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 - Attorney General

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.

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.

Found: Given or Received Who gift was given to or received from Value (£) Outcome (Received gifts only) Lord Hermer

Found:

Found: hospitality Type of Hospitality Received Accompanied by Guest Estimated value of Hospitality (£) Lord Hermer

Found:

Found:

Found:

Found: Given or Received Who gift was given to or received from Value (£) Outcome (Received gifts only) Lord Hermer

Found:

Found: hospitality Type of Hospitality Received Accompanied by Guest Estimated value of Hospitality (£) Lord Hermer

Found:

Found: £1,000)1 Total (to nearest £1,000) 2025-26 2024-25 2025-26 2024-25 2025-26 2024-25 The Rt Hon Lord Hermer

Found: . _____________________________ _____________________________ Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC Anthony Rogers