Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral contribution of 8 September 2015, Official Report, column 222, what progress he has made on talks with the Bar and the solicitors' profession on maintaining access to justice and enhancing the quality of advocacy in courts.

On 1 October 2015, the government published a consultation on Preserving and Enhancing the Quality of Criminal Advocacy, which sets out a package of measures designed to ensure the quality of criminal defence advocacy. These proposals seek to address the concerns highlighted by judges and legal practitioners, as well as Sir Bill Jeffrey in his Review of Independent Criminal Advocacy, published in May 2014. This consultation will close on 27 November this year and the government is keen to listen to all views on the proposals.