Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the future of criminal advocacy and the implementation of the recommendations of the Jeffrey Report.

The Jeffrey Review clearly identifies a number of challenges for criminal advocacy services. The Government is committed to working with the profession in the first half of 2015 to make progress on reforms that will ensure the legal aid advocacy market operates competitively, sustainably and in such a way as to optimise quality. In particular, the Government proposes to take steps to ensure that defendants in criminal cases always have an informed and effective choice of the advocate who is to represent them. The Government also proposes to take measures to strengthen the current ban by the Legal Aid Agency on the payment or receipt of referral fees and to address any potential conflicts of interest. We want to make sure that defendants are fully aware of the choices available to them and that only advocates who are sufficiently qualified by their training and experience represent defendants in cases in the Crown Court.