Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, further to the answer of 3 June 2026, to Question 3339, on Special Advisers: Public Appointments, whether any delivery advisers have been appointed to date, broken down by (a) special advisers, (b) Direct Ministerial Appointments, (c) civil servants appointed by exception, and (d) permanent civil servants appointed through open competition.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

No delivery advisers have been appointed either by Direct Ministerial Appointment, as civil servants appointed by exception, or as permanent civil servants appointed through open competition. A list of special advisers is published each year in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of the use of technology to improve efficiency in the criminal justice system.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has assessed that modern digital technologies can enhance existing processes and support more efficient case handling. Through its Future Casework Tools programme, the CPS is modernising systems to improve the casework experience and reduce the time required to review case files. The CPS is also working with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service on initiatives such as digital jury bundles, which aim to increase transparency, accessibility and efficiency in court proceedings.

The CPS has further assessed that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to deliver substantial efficiency gains by assisting with routine administrative tasks. This can enable prosecutors and other specialists to devote more time to complex legal work and decision-making. The CPS published its AI Vision in July 2025, setting out how AI can be used to drive efficiencies in a legal, safe and ethical manner, while ensuring responsible use, transparency and coordination across the criminal justice system.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, whether the Government plans to negotiate changes to the European Convention of Human Rights at a Council of Europe level.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The PQ relates to whether the government plans to negotiate changes to the European Convention of Human Rights at a Council of Europe level. There are no current plans to do so. However, the response refers to the recent Chișinău Declaration which concerns the ECHR and migration and which was adopted by the full Council of Europe in May 2026.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2026, to Question 110793, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Flexible Working, how many and what proportion of full-time staff on full pay (1.0 FTE) in (a) her Department and (b) Crown Prosecution Service work compressed hours over a four day week.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The tables below contain data for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) relevant to the question.

AGO

CPS

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the letter entitled, Simplification and Agency of Government - Letter to all ministers, of 7 September 2026, whether she plans to legislate to disapply the Gunning principles and case law on consultation requirements and expectations, including R v London Borough of Brent ex parte Gunning (1985).

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the answer of 28 August 2026, to Question 17707, on Attorney General’s Office staff, if she will list each external organisation that has seconded staff to the department since July 2026, and each organisation to which Civil Servants have been seconded.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Since July 2026, no staff have been seconded to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) from external organisations. During the same period, no AGO civil servants have been seconded to external organisations.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2026 to Question 3763 and with reference to the Answer of of 19 January 2026 to Question 104195 on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in (a) the Attorney General’s Office and (b) each of its superintended departments are (i) members of the Government Communication Network and (ii) embedded communicators who are not counted as members of the Government Communication Network.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Government Communication Service (GCS) is the professional network of all communications staff across Government.

The table below contains the headcount for the Attorney General’s Office and each of its superintended departments who are communications professionals.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the letter, "Simplification and Agency of Government - Letter to all ministers", of 7 September 2026, if she will make it her policy to place the updated legal risk guidance in the Library of the House once it has been produced.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General

My updated Legal Risk guidance was published on GOV.UK on 8th September 2026. I have directed my officials to place a copy in the Library of the House.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many successful prosecutions for corporate manslaughter have been brought in each of the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland

Corporate manslaughter cases are considered by the CPS Special Crime Division, which handles some of the CPS’s most complex and sensitive casework.

Our manual records confirm the number of prosecution cases in which there was a conviction for corporate manslaughter in each of the last five years is as follows:

• 2022 – 3

• 2023 – 3

• 2024 – 2

• 2025 – 1

• 2026 – 0

The CPS does not collect data that constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Therefore, this update is based upon our collated manual records that may be subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. These figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the CPS.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of successful criminal  prosecutions brought following the Grenfell tragedy.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what guidance the Crown Prosecution Service provides to prosecutors on the evidential use of social media content apparently recorded or uploaded by a defendant in prosecutions for (a) theft, (b) burglary, (c) vehicle crime and (d) dangerous driving.

Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The CPS does not provide specific guidance on the use of social media content as evidence in prosecutions for offences of (a) theft, (b) burglary, (c) vehicle crime and (d) dangerous driving.

However, prosecutors are required to use all available relevant and admissible evidence (including social media content) in prosecutions for all types of offence (including theft, burglary, vehicle crime and dangerous driving) in order to build the strongest possible cases.

Found: Q37 Lord Cryer: I have to declare an interest: I am married to the Attorney- General.

Found: Yesterday, the Attorney General set out the pressure that she is putting on the CPS to get to grips

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Lord Hermer accepted a ministerial severance payment upon leaving office as Attorney General.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Details of ministerial severance payments are published in the relevant department’s annual report and accounts.

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Found: Before he reached a final decision he consulted the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith.

Found: As regards s321(2), this provides that an application for a review can only be made by the Attorney General

Found: Panel counsel: structure The Attorney General maintains panels of junior counsel to undertake civil and