Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what advice the Attorney General provided about the proportionality and applicability to Northern Ireland under World Trade Organization rules of the generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and the likelihood of a legal challenge at the World Trade Organization.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.

Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether anyone in the Attorney General's Office advised against proceeding in the China spy case for diplomatic reasons, and if so, what that advice was.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

No one in the Attorney General’s Office advised against proceeding in these cases for diplomatic (or any other) reasons.

As I set out in my evidence to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on 29 October 2025, in this case, consent to prosecute was given on 3 April 2024 by the then Solicitor General. Following that date, no Law Officer intervened in the case at any stage.

The decision to offer no evidence in this case was made by the CPS without input or advice from the Law Officers.

Decisions to not proceed because of evidential reasons are made independently by the CPS. The requirement on the CPS is to inform the Attorney General of the decision after it has been taken, not to consult prior to that decision.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what advice the Attorney General provided about the legality and applicability to Northern Ireland of the generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and the compatibility of that ban with the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.

Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment made by the Law Officers.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The AGO has not made any direct ministerial appointments.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what recent discussions she has had with the Serious Fraud Office on the closure of Vashi jewellers.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

To assist with my oversight of the Serious Fraud Office, I hold regular superintendence meetings with the SFO’s executive team to keep me appraised of relevant SFO casework matters.

The SFO is a relatively small, highly specialised government department that is permitted by law to investigate only the most serious and complex cases of fraud and bribery affecting the UK.

Decisions on which cases to investigate are taken independently by the SFO, with the Director determining whether to authorise an investigation in accordance with the criteria set out in the Director’s Statement of Principle.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken for the Crown Prosecution Service to reach charging decisions in cases involving alleged breaches of Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 in (a) general and (b) the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued proceedings under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, in relation to one case, since it was commenced on 31 October 2024.

As a former Home Secretary, she will understand that the Government cannot comment on any live investigations or criminal proceedings.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Crown Prosecution Service has issued any recent guidance on the prosecution of offences related to illegal polygamous marriages conducted within the UK.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Bigamy is an offence contrary to section.57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and is prosecuted as such. The CPS has not issued and has no plans to issue specific guidance.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how many applications for permission to seek a new inquest under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 have been granted in each of the past five years.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Our records indicate that the following number of fiats were granted in each of the last five years:
2021 – 4
2022 – 4
2023 – 11
2024 – 6
2025 – 14 to date.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Crown Prosecution Service provides guidance to prosecutors on addressing expert or academic evidence that uses alternative terminology for female genital mutilation in criminal proceedings.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

FGM is clearly defined in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 and CPS prosecutors apply that statutory framework alongside the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS’s prosecution guidance for FGM recognises that expert medical evidence may assist a jury on technical matters; however, alternative terminology used in academic or professional contexts does not alter the offence definitions or the legal tests. Prosecutors assess any expert evidence for relevance, admissibility and weight, and will ensure the statutory terminology is used in court.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether she has had discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service on the potential impact of articles in medical journals on the willingness of (a) victims of and (b) witnesses to female genital mutilation to come forward.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Victim and witness confidence is vital to tackling FGM. While the CPS does not comment on individual publications, prosecutors work closely with police and partners under established FGM joint protocols to provide early advice, safeguarding and sensitive handling of evidence. We recognise that victims rarely use the term “mutilation” themselves; language is often drawn out through expert evidence.

The CPS understands that in some communities FGM is practised with mistaken belief that is will benefit the girl in some way, but this does not detract from the fact that it causes long term harm and trauma to victims and remains a serious criminal offence. The CPS continues to maintain dedicated prosecution guidance and training to ensure cases are built robustly where the legal test is met.

Whilst securing prosecutions is important, protective measures are central to safeguarding victims. Protective measures, such as Forced Marriage Protection Orders, FGM Protection Orders are designed for of these crimes and safeguard them from on-going risk.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether he has sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service on the potential impact of articles in medical journals on (a) evidential thresholds and (b) prosecutorial decision-making in cases involving female genital mutilation.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The CPS role is to make sure the right person is prosecuted for the right offence. Prosecutors apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors when making charging decisions in all cases, including FGM. The evidential threshold, whether the evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction, requires prosecutors to consider the reliability and credibility of the evidence. Where relevant to a particular case, prosecutors may consider admissible expert medical evidence. However, academic commentary does not change the legal tests or the CPS decision making framework.

Found: section 16B into the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959, which in ss.16B(2) prevents the Attorney General

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Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether officials submitted to Ministers a written assessment of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report Developments in the Economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory; on what date any such assessment was first submitted; whether that assessment was shared with the Foreign Secretary, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Attorney General; and whether they will place copies of any such assessments in the Library of the House.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Export licensing decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, using the most up-to-date information and analysis available at the time. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office draws on information from a large variety of stakeholders, including our diplomatic network, other government departments, reporting from non-governmental organisations, and international organisations. We took decisive action in September 2024, stopping exports to the Israeli Defence Forces that might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Detailed data on export licences is published regularly on gov.uk, including with refusal criteria. Additional Israel data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/export-control-licensing-management-information-for-israel/israel-export-control-licensing-data-31-july-2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she had discussions with her Mauritian counterpart on the survey being conducted by the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee on Chagossian views on the Agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government continues to engage with Mauritius on a range of issues related to implementation of the agreement between our countries, and I met the Mauritian Attorney General to that end on his last visit to London.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials met with the Mauritian Attorney General during his recent visit to London.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government continues to engage with Mauritius on a range of issues related to implementation of the agreement between our countries, and I met the Mauritian Attorney General to that end on his last visit to London.

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