Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, if she will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of the increase in fees for prosecution barristers acting on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service; and whether her Department has made an impact of assessment of this decision.

The estimated annual cost to keep parity between the prosecution and defence schemes will be around £30 million. The Crown Prosecution Service have modelled where the changes to the scheme need to be made and have been in liaison with the Bar Council.