Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of requests for consultancy and temporary staff for the Law Officers' Departments were approved via a resource board.

During 2016/17 no requests for consultancy or temporary staff for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have been considered by a ‘resource board’.

The SFO also does not approve any expenditure for consultants or temporary workers via a resource board.

The Government Legal Department (GLD) engages temporary staff through Civil Service contractual arrangements to cover short term vacancies and to secure specific specialist legal and support skills that are not available in-house. It does not use a resource board to approve this form of appointments. Rather, the department’s annual budget for staffing is agreed each year by the GLD Board and formal delegations are made to individual budget holders who then have responsibility for the recruitment and deployment of staff (including temporary staff, where appropriate) within central guidelines. The approval mechanism for consultancy spend at the GLD is not via a resources board although a request for consultancy would need to be accompanied by a business justification. However, there was no consultancy spend in GLD during the last financial year.

The AGO have not employed any consultancy or agency staff during 2016/17.

Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) discusses and authorises all requests for consultants or temporary staff at their strategic board.