To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to increase the numbers of solicitors and practices undertaking work on behalf of defendants funded by legal aid. (107529)

DCA and LSC have recently published “Legal Aid Reform: the way ahead,” copies of which can be found in the House Library and on both the DCA and LSC websites. This document sets out our commitment to ensure a sustainable legal aid market is in place, with a quality assured service at the heart of our procurement strategy. The LSC continues to provide defendants in criminal cases access to legal advice and representation, thus safeguarding their right to a fair trial. I believe that the way ahead we have outlined will secure this for the future, at a price that is fair for defendants, fair for the taxpayer and fair for the practitioner.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the introduction of changes in means testing legal aid from 1 October 2006 on the effectiveness of (a) magistrates and (b) Crown courts. (107697)

Since the implementation of the means test in the magistrates court, over 93,000 applications have been processed to date, and in many major urban areas the new scheme is being successfully implemented. On 22 November, in response to concerns raised in other areas, I announced a package of changes to improve the operational effectiveness of the new scheme. In particular, I am changing the conditions of early cover to encourage solicitors to take on first hearings and the forms are currently being reviewed. There is little evidence of any significant adverse impact on Crown court business.