Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many compensation claims have been brought against Government departments, except the Department of Health and Social Care, since 28 February; how many claimants there are; and what was the amount of damages sought in each case.

Since 28 February 2020, 601 claims for damages have been brought against government departments, excluding the Department for Health and Social Care, in litigation conducted by the Government Legal Department (GLD).

GLD conducts most, but not all, litigation on behalf of government departments. For example, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs normally conducts its own litigation.

GLD is unable to give the amount of damages sought in each case because that information is not always available at the early stage of the case and whether such information is available could not be ascertained without examining every case file and thus incurring disproportionate costs.