Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2026 to question 16731, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of tracking response times to Mutual Legal Assistance requests.

We keep the effectiveness of the UK Central Authority under regular review and continually seek to improve its systems and processes including considering publishable data. I can assure you that we are committed to effectively providing mutual legal assistance objectively and impartially across the world in accordance with international commitments.

The UKCA is one of the busiest central authorities in the world, responding to requests that often involve complex legal processes across different jurisdictions. Requests concerning the most serious offences are treated as a high priority.

Response times depend on the timely cooperation of multiple law enforcement authorities. Where delays arise, we remain committed to progressing requests as quickly and effectively as possible.

The UKCA aims to acknowledge receipt of a new MLA request quickly and to respond to requests promptly. Requests concerning the most serious offences are treated as a high priority to ensure justice is done and that the UK maintains its reputation as a high-quality criminal justice partner.