Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how much (a) the Government Legal Department, (b) the Attorney General's Office and (c) HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate spent on counsel fees to independent barristers in the last 12 months.

Government Legal Department (GLD) provides legal services to other government departments and instructs external barristers on their behalf. The amount paid by GLD to external barristers for such services in the 12 months from October 2015 to September 2016 was £25.1m. These charges are recharged to the client departments.

In addition, the GLD, Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) made the following payments to external Counsel for their own cases in the same period:

The amount paid to barristers in one financial year is not necessarily reflective of the work carried out during that year. Payment may sometimes take place some time after the work has been done and so fees paid in one financial year may relate to an aggregate of work done over more than one year.

All the figures listed exclude VAT (individuals must pay the VAT to HM Revenue and Customs) but are inclusive of disbursements incurred such as travelling costs.