Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the Criminal Court Charge.

As the Secretary of State stated to the House on 8 September, we have been made aware of widespread concern about the operation of the Criminal Courts Charge, but it is important to stress that the Charge is levied or taken from the offender only after other impositions have been paid. It is important to note that statutory protections are in place so that the payment of the Charge in due course should be linked to the offender's means. Within the Bill there was a duty placed on the Lord Chancellor to carry out a review of the Criminal Courts Charge, three years after the implementation of the Charge.