23 July 2007
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment the Government have made of the Public Defence Office pilots.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment the Government have made of the Public Defence Office pilots. [151779]
Maria Eagle: The Government commissioned an independent team of leading academics, lead by Professor Lee Bridges of the University of Warwick, to undertake a full evaluation of the PDS pilot. The final report entitled "Evaluation of the Public Defender Service in England and Wales" was published in January 2007 and can be found on the Legal Services Commission's website at;
www.legalservices.gov.uk/docs/pds/Public_Defenders_Report_PDFVersion6.pdf.
A copy of the final report can also be found in the Libraries of the House.