Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether he has produced legal advice on the compatibility of (a) Article 2 of the European Commission on Human Rights, (b) probate law and (c) civil procedure rules with the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers, and it applies to your question.
The Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making her advice to Cabinet colleagues on the legal implications of bills available to the police.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The fact that the Law Officers advise on Bills through the government collective agreement process before they are introduced to Parliament is public knowledge. However, on specific matters, the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed outside government without their authority. Such authority is rarely given. This principle is known as the Law Officers’ Convention and can be found at paragraphs 21.27 of Erskine May and 5.14 of the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, if she will publish the most recent guidance issued by the Government Legal Service guidance to Departments on legal risk.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Guidance on Legal Risk was last updated on 6 November 2024. It can be found here: Guidance: Attorney General's Guidance on Legal Risk - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether she has provided legal advice on British nationals serving in the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza since October 2023.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers. The Convention applies to your question.
It can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May: “By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether her Department has (a) received and (b) approved requests from relevant authorities for consent to launch criminal investigations into alleged war crimes committed by British citizens who have served in the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza since 2023.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General and I are not responsible for providing consent to launch criminal investigations into suspected war crimes offences in England and Wales.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 13184 on Homicide: Aiding and Abetting, whether the Crown Prosecution Service has commenced the full national monitoring scheme.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my response to UINs 44005-44007 tabled on Friday 11 April 2025.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what information her Department (a) collects and (b) holds on British citizens that have served in the Israel Defence Forces since 2023.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
In relation to part (a) of your question, the Attorney General’s Office does not collect this information.
In relation to part (b) of your question, the Law Officers’ Convention applies. The Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers. It can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, whether the CPS convened a scrutiny panel in January 2024 as planned that focused on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023: Data Analysis, published on 29 September 2023, what steps she plans to take to help tackle the ethnicity disproportionality outlined in that data.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023 whether the scheme is monitoring cases involving (a) Romani, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Travellers; and when will the scheme will issue its first report.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.