Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of unrepresented defendants were unrepresented because they (a) failed to meet the legal aid merits test, (b) failed to meet the legal aid means test and (c) chose to defend themselves in the latest period for which figures are available.

Data on the representation status of defendants in the Crown Court is published as part of the annual Criminal Court Statistics publication at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2015. The representation status of defendants in magistrates’ courts is not recorded. Data on whether unrepresented defendants meet legal aid means and merits tests, and whether they chose to defend themselves, is not available.