Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the compatibility of the Nationality and Borders Bill with international law.
Answered by Suella Braverman
Any request for my advice is subject to the Law Officers’ Convention and this includes discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the compatibility of proposed legislation with international law.
The UK prides itself on its leadership within the international system, and that it discharges its international obligations in good faith.
Either the Solicitor General or I attend the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, which scrutinises all of the government’s legislation before it reaches Parliament.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many court cases the Government has defended since 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such case.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Each Department is responsible for defending actions brought against them and makes their own arrangements for doing so. There is no central record of all court cases brought against the Government and therefore it is not possible to identify either the total number of cases or the cost of them.
However, most central government bodies instruct the Government Legal Department to conduct their litigation. Since the 2010-11 financial year the Government Legal Department has been instructed by government bodies in almost 200,000 cases costing about £570 million (including VAT).