§ 29. Mr. FabricantTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is his policy in respect of public defenders. [7528]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)Any criminal defence services funded by legal aid would have to be independent, adequately resourced and of the right quality to play an effective part in a criminal justice system. We have not ruled out the possibility of engaging employed solicitors, or indeed solicitors under specially designed contracts for particular kinds of work, if those would be the most suitable arrangements in all the circumstances.
§ Mr. FabricantAs the hon. Gentleman and his Department have expressed some concern about the quality of the Crown Prosecution Service and the solicitors employed there, what assurance can he give that, if he were to go ahead with a public defender system, he would be able to ensure that solicitors of the highest calibre were employed, and not simply those who were unable to get jobs elsewhere?
§ Mr. HoonIn setting up publicly funded services, we would guarantee lawyers of an appropriate quality and 684 standing. We intend to adopt the most appropriate system for delivering legal services, according to the nature of the work in question. We have not ruled out the possibility of having employed lawyers; indeed, there is likely to be a pilot scheme in Scotland in due course which will allow us to test precisely the quality of the service that is made available.