Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the appointment of the Chair of the Criminal Legal Aid Review Part 2 is planned to be announced.

We are working closely with stakeholders including the criminal defence representative bodies to ensure that the Independent Review is set up as quickly as possible and that we appoint the right chair and advisory panel so that the review can deliver a robust, evidence-based assessment of the criminal legal aid market.

This means ensuring that the chair of the review has the right skillset, expertise and experience. At present, we are working to identify and appoint the right candidate for the role and will say more in due course.