Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Lord Chancellor and Law Officers

Thursday 25 May 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Attorney General thanked the House of Lords Constitution Committee for its report on the roles of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers.
  • The Attorney General stated that she is bound by the Law Officers' convention and cannot comment on legal advice given by previous Law Officers.
  • The Attorney General noted that the Government had published summaries of their legal position regarding earlier bills mentioned by the questioner.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jeff Smith Lab Manchester Withington
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report on the roles of the Lord Chancellor and Law Officers, raising concerns about legislation that breaches international obligations. This prompted questions regarding government policy.

Question

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the ninth report of the House of Lords Constitution Committee, “The roles of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers”, HL 118, published on 18 January 2023?

Answer from Victoria Prentis

As Attorney General, I am honoured to play an important role in upholding the rule of law, which is fundamental to our constitution. I thank the House of Lords Constitution Committee for its report. The Government published their response in March, and I am looking forward to appearing before the Committee next month.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Attorney General did not provide a direct assessment of the implications for her policies but expressed appreciation for the committee's work and indicated future engagement.

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Q2 Jeff Smith Lab Manchester Withington
Migrants & Borders Standards & Ethics
Context

The Constitution Committee criticised previous legislation for breaching international obligations, referring specifically to the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill and the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. This led to questions about whether the Illegal Migration Bill is another such example.

Question

Does this Attorney General accept that the Illegal Migration Bill is the third such example, and the first on her watch?

Answer from Victoria Prentis

No, I do not accept that. I am bound by the Law Officers' convention mentioned earlier, so I cannot comment on advice, even that provided by previous Law Officers. With regard to the two earlier Bills that the hon. Gentleman mentioned, the Government published summaries of their legal position during the introduction of both Bills, and we did so more recently in February this year on the Windsor framework.

Not addressed: The Attorney General avoided addressing whether the Illegal Migration Bill breaches international obligations by citing the Law Officers' convention.

How: Bound By The Law Officers' Convention

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