Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many members of staff have left the Law Officers' Departments since 1 January 2015; and how many of those members of staff were nationals of non-UK EU countries.

The following number of staff left the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Government Legal Department (GLD) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) during the period 1 January 2015 to 30 November 2017:

Attorney General’s Office 41

Government Legal Department 543

HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 18

Of these 602 moves, 266 were to other government departments.

During the period 1 January 2015 to 13 December 2017, 1,429 employees left the CPS.

The number of staff who have left the SFO since 2015 is as follows:

2015 72

2016 72

2017 64

The recording of nationality information within the AGO, GLD and HMCPSI is the responsibility of the individual to input via employee self-service. The information held relating to the above 602 moves is as follows:

• British 385

• No declaration 205

• Irish 2 (taken to be Republic of Ireland as Northern Irish is a separate option)

• Other nationality 10 (the data held does not distinguish between EU and non-EU)

The CPS acts in accordance with guidance on the handling of this information and does not keep certificate information for any longer than is necessary once a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made. This is generally for a period of up to six months, to allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints. The CPS is unable to confirm therefore how many of those members of staff who left during this period were nationals of non-UK EU countries.

As there is no legal requirement for employers to keep records on the nationality of staff, the SFO does not collate information on how many of these individuals were non-UK EU nationals.