Attorney General written statement – made at on 22 February 2024.
Victoria Prentis
The Attorney-General
I would like to inform the House that a cash advance from the Contingencies Fund has been sought for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The advance is required to cover costs relating to the investigation and prosecution of very large cases pending Parliamentary approval of the 2023-24 Supplementary Estimate. Part of the SFO’s Supplementary Estimate will seek an increase in both its Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) and net cash requirement in relation to these cases.
This reflects funding arrangements agreed with HM Treasury, whereby through the Supplementary Estimates process the SFO can access the HM Treasury Reserve for the additional costs of cases that are individually over 4% of the SFO’s non-ringfenced Resource DEL.
Parliamentary approval for additional resources of £22,253,000 will be sought in a Supplementary Estimate for the SFO. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £22,253,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.
The advance will be repaid upon Royal Assent of the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Bill.
The Attorney General, assisted by the Solicitor General, is the chief legal adviser to the Government. The Attorney General also has certain public interest functions, for example, in taking action to protect charities.
The Attorney General has overall responsibility for The Treasury Solicitor's Department, superintends the Director of Public Prosecutions as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland. The Law Officers answer for these Departments in Parliament.
The Attorney General and the Solicitor General also deal with questions of law arising on Government Bills and with issues of legal policy. They are concerned with all major international and domestic litigation involving the Government and questions of European Community and International Law as they may affect Her Majesty's Government.
see also, http://www.lslo.gov.uk/
