§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what stage the fundamental review of the rules governing group actions has reached; and when he expects the report and recommendations arising from the review to be published.
Mr. John M. TaylorOn 16 December last year the Lord Chancellor announced the terms of reference for his Department's fundamental review of expenditure. This will cover all areas of the Department's business, including civil litigation, and will report to the Lord Chancellor in June. As any conclusions and recommendations resulting from this review will clearly have implications for group actions, procedures with regard to such actions are being examined as part of the review.
The results of fundamental reviews are not commonly made public. Any action which the Lord Chancellor decides to take as a result of the review's conclusions will, however, be preceded by public consultation in the usual way.