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Written Question
Attorney General: Apprentices
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The apprenticeship levy for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is managed by the Government Legal Department (GLD). The GLD also manages the apprenticeship levy for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). These apprenticeship levies are combined into one pot and it is not possible to isolate them by department. However, it is possible to isolate the levy fees spent by the AGO to support its apprentices.

Between 01 September 2021 and 31 August 2023, the apprenticeship levy fees paid for the AGO, GLD, and HMCPSI were £1,380,581. This includes the 10% government top up.

During the same period, the AGO spent £30,173 to support AGO apprentices.

Please note that, except for the references to the GLD and HMCPSI above, I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HMCPSI, GLD, and Serious Fraud Office).


Written Question
Attorney General: Billing
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of invoices received by her Department were paid within five days in (a) the 2021-2022 financial year and (b) each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The table below shows the percentage of invoices received and paid within five days for (a) 2021-22 and (b) each of the last 12 months.

Month

Year

2021/22

18.06%

Apr-22

7.95%

May-22

5.26%

Jun-22

33.33%

Jul-22

25.00%

Aug-22

25.71%

Sep-22

33.33%

Oct-22

4.76%

Nov-22

36.36%

Dec-22

44.44%

Jan-23

28.57%

Feb-23

0.00%

Mar-23

18.52%


Written Question
Attorney General: Work Experience
Thursday 13th February 2020

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many people aged (a) 16 and under and (b) over 16 years old undertook work experience in his Department in each of the last three years.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Civil Service aims to increase opportunities for people of all backgrounds and create a Civil Service fit for 21st century Britain through work experience, internships and apprenticeship schemes. However, the confidentially of work undertaken at the Attorney General’s Office makes offering work experience opportunities difficult.

For people aged 16 and under there was the following number of work experience placements:

2017: 0

2018: 0

2019: 0

For people over 16 years old there was the following number of work experience placements:

2017: 0

2018: 0

2019: 0


Written Question
Attorney General: Honours
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of staff in his Department in receipt of each category of Honour in (a) December 2018 and (b) June 2019 were (i) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (ii) female aged (A) under 30, (B) 31 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) aged over 50.

Answered by Geoffrey Cox

he Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. The proportion of women and people from ethnic minorities receiving recognition on each honours list is available on GOV.UK as is a breakdown of ethnicities of recipients is published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/honours-recipients-by-ethnicity.

Information on ages is not correlated with other diversity factors. We also publish the proportion of honours by independent committee on GOV.UK. The numbers of honours recipients in the Attorney General’s Office are very small and vary from year to year. Releasing the requested data would identify the individuals and they have given permission for their data to be used for statistical purposes only.


Written Question
Attorney General: Ethnic Groups
Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The recording of ethnicity is the responsibility of the individual to input via employee self-service. Due to small numbers of staff at each of the requested grades, we have grouped these together in our response below.

Including those on temporary promotion at the grades requested, there are 16 members of staff in scope. Of these, only five have input their ethnicity details onto the HR system. Of these, none have self-identified as being from an ethnic minority background.

AGO supports the Civil Service vision of being recognised as the UK’s most inclusive employer. AGO has two diversity champions and a Diversity & Inclusion Strategy in place that is reviewed by the Executive Board every six months.

AGO is an employer which promotes equality and aims to reflect the diversity of the society in which we live. It is committed to maximising the skills and potential of all its staff. It welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons irrespective of disability, ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status or religion/belief. It also implements blind recruitment to minimise the impact of unconscious bias.


Written Question
Attorney General: Brexit
Thursday 14th December 2017

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.

Members of staff across the Law Officers’ Departments provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Departments’ other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.


Written Question
Attorney General: Brexit
Wednesday 1st November 2017

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, whether the Law Officers' Departments were consulted by the Department for Exiting the European Union on the economic impact assessments conducted for the UK leaving the EU.

Answered by Robert Buckland

The Government is carrying out an ongoing programme of comprehensive analytical work that will inform our negotiating position with the EU, to define our deep and special partnership with the EU and inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.

The Law Officers’ Departments are working with officials across government, in close coordination with the Department for Exiting the European Union, to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated programme of analysis across government.


Written Question
Local Government: Pensions
Wednesday 9th April 2014

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Independent Police Complaints Commission with advice on criminal charges against current or former police officers suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010.

Answered by Oliver Heald

The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination
Wednesday 9th April 2014

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Metropolitan Police Service with advice on criminal charges against members of the public suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010.

Answered by Oliver Heald

The table below shows, for the CPS in London, the average number of calendar days which have elapsed since the first decision was sought by the police to the date in which the last decision made was to charge. The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice, by the alleged offence(s).

Average Time to a Decision to Charge

2008 - 2010

6.7

2011 - 2013

6.2

The CPS in London deals with cases referred to it by both the Metropolitan Police Force and the City of London Police Force and it is not possible to further break down the figures provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Drugs: Cost Effectiveness
Wednesday 9th April 2014

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how and on what basis the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to prioritise the allocation of resources to its decision-making on criminal charges following conclusions of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry; and whether there is additional consideration where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry.

Answered by Oliver Heald

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider whether there is any new evidence or information within the coroner's proceedings which may have an impact upon any previous CPS decision not to bring criminal charges against an individual(s) or organisation following a conclusion of unlawful killing at an inquest or public inquiry. Where it is found that a further investigation will need to be conducted by the police, and a fresh decision made by the CPS, the police and CPS should ensure the Coroner and bereaved family / next of kin are notified of the next steps to be taken.

The allocation of CPS resources to make decisions on criminal charges will be determined by the specific facts and circumstances of the individual case. The Complex Casework Units in each of the CPS Areas will deal with more complex homicide cases; other homicide cases will be handled by senior prosecutors in the Areas. The Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in CPS headquarters also deals with a wide range of homicide cases including deaths in custody, assisted suicides, terrorist-related homicides and homicides arising from so-called ‘disaster' cases. There are no additional considerations where the events in question occurred more than three years prior to the conclusion of the inquest or public inquiry.