My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General has made the following written ministerial statement:

“The Government have today issued a consultation paper on a possible Plea Negotiation Framework for introduction in England and Wales. The consultation period will run for three months and we are keen to hear from as many people as possible.

The consultation paper gives effect to one of the key recommendations of the Fraud Review published in July 2006, which was itself subject to a period of public consultation. The relevant recommendations in the review attracted a good deal of public support and my predecessor established a Working Group to devise an appropriate framework. That Working Group was chaired by Stephen Hockman QC, former chairman of the Bar Council, and consisted of representatives drawn from across the criminal justice system. The framework that group devised is the centrepiece of the consultation paper”.