§ Mr. StottTo ask the Attorney-General if the working party which he established to review the system of appointing counsel to act for the Government in civil cases has reported to him. [54617]
The Attorney-GeneralIn February I established a working party to review the system of appointment counsel to act for the Crown in civil cases and to monitor the use of barristers appointed to act. The working party was chaired by the then Solicitor General (Lord Falconer QC) and included representatives from the Bar Council (Laura Cox QC and Lincoln Crawford), the two First Treasury Counsel (Philip Sales and Jonathan Crow) and officials from the Government Legal Service.
The working party has now reported to me and I have accepted their recommendations. I am grateful to the members of the working party for their thorough consideration of the appointment process. A copy of the working party's report has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.