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 “higher bar” for inclusion in new legislation.

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.