Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the comparative (a) cost and (b) quality of service of the Public Defender Service Office and private sector criminal defence lawyers. [151777]
Maria Eagle: The Independent Evaluation of the Public Defender Service (PDS) in England and Wales, which was published in January 2007, includes an assessment of the comparative cost and quality provided by the PDS. 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.