Attorney General's Office (United Kingdom) Explained

Agency Name:Attorney General's Office
Type:Department
Founded:1315 -->
Jurisdiction:United Kingdom, mainly England and Wales and Northern Ireland
Headquarters:102 Petty France, London, England
Budget:£600 million & no capital expenditure for Law Officers' Departments in 2017/18[1]
Minister1 Name:Richard Hermer KC
Minister1 Pfo:Attorney General for England and Wales
Minister2 Name:Sarah Sackman
Minister2 Pfo:Solicitor General for England and Wales

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It supports the Attorney General and their deputy, the Solicitor General (together, the Law officers of the Crown in England and Wales). It is sometimes referred to as the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers.

The administration and expenditure of the Attorney General's Office are scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.[2]

Organisation

The AGO is one of the smallest UK government departments, with around 40 staff. It is one of "the Law Officers’ Departments" along with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Government Legal Department. The Treasury Solicitor acts as Accounting Officer for the AGO.

The AGO provides legal advice and support to the Law Officers who themselves provide legal advice to the government, and works with the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office to develop criminal justice policy.[3]

Ministers

The Law Officers in England and Wales are as follows:[4]

MinisterPortraitRankPortfolio
Richard Hermer KCAttorney General
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
Chief legal adviser to the Crown; the Crown Prosecution Service; the Serious Fraud Office; His Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate; the Government Legal DepartmentOther responsibilities include:acting as principal legal adviser on questions of EU and international law, human rights and devolution issues; referring unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal; bringing proceedings for contempt of courtintervening in certain proceedings to protect charities; dealing with questions of law arising on government Bills; legal aspects of all major international and domestic litigation involving the government.
Sarah SackmanSolicitor Generaldeputising for the Attorney General and being responsible for such matters as the Attorney General delegates; providing support to the Attorney General in his superintendence of the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Service Prosecuting Authority, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Serious Fraud Office; providing support to the Attorney General on civil litigation and advice on civil law matters and on the public interest function.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Autumn Budget 2017. 22 November 2017. HM Treasury. London. 25–26. 14 January 2018.
  2. Web site: Role - Justice Committee . parliament.uk . 10 September 2021 . The Justice Committee was appointed by the House of Commons to examine the... administration and expenditure of the Attorney General's Office.
  3. Web site: Attorney General's Office - About us. Gov.uk. 14 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Our ministers. GOV.UK. 12 May 2015.