Written question asked by Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative) on Wednesday, 15 June 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 June 2005. It was answered by Bridget Prentice (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 June 2005 on behalf of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Criminal Defence Services Bill

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the proposed financial thresholds for means testing in the Criminal Defence Service Bill will be index-linked.

Answer: The Framework Document published alongside the Criminal Defence Service Bill includes an undertaking to carry out an annual review of the proposed financial eligibility thresholds. In all normal circumstances, we would expect to update these thresholds in line with one of the established indicators such as the Rossi index. These proposals will be included among the draft regulations setting out the specific mechanics of the new means testing model. The regulations are expected to be published in autumn 2005 and will be subject to a full consultation exercise, the outcome of which will help to inform the final design and operation of the new scheme.

Secondary information