Evaluation of the PDS
On this page:
Aims of the PDS
The Public Defender Service was set up to:
Provide independent, high quality and value for money criminal defence services to the public
Provide examples of excellence in the provision of criminal defence services.
Provide the LSC with benchmarking information to be used to improve the performance of the contracting regime with private practice providers.
Raise the level of understanding within Government, DCA and throughout the LSC of the issues facing criminal defence lawyers seeking to provide high quality services to the public.
Provide the LSC with an additional option to enable the provision of quality criminal defence services in geographic areas where existing provision is low or of a poor standard.
To recruit, train and develop people to provide high quality criminal defence services in accordance with the PDS's own business needs.
These individuals will assist the provision of criminal defence services generally. They will share with private practice providers best practice developed within the PDS to help improve CDS provision.
PDS pilot project
The PDS was set up initially as a four year LSC pilot project in 2001.
This service was known as the Salaried Defender Service. The original consultation paper is on the DCA website, along with the government's conclusions to the responses to the consultation.
The LSC commissioned an independent team of researchers to monitor and evaluate the pilot project. The researchers were led by:
- Lee Bridges of the Legal Research Institute, School of Law, University of Warwick
- Avrom Sherr of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.
Evaluation
We have published the independent research into the PDS pilot project. The report is under Related Documents.
The research shows that:
- the quality of legal advice given by the PDS is a key strength
- the PDS recognises that value for money is a challenge and that it needs to be more cost effective in some areas.
The research data were collated in the early stages of the pilot. The PDS has since made significant developments. The PDS is most effective where existing supply is poor or thin and has introduced:
- a new management structure which has bought focus to performance
- innovative methods of delivery including developing our in-house advocates.
The PDS has learned from the pilot and is confident it can deliver a high quality criminal defence service. It has an important role to play in informing policy for the LSC.
The PDS has made improvements in reducing costs and recognises it still needs to become cost effective in some areas.
Last updated: 04 January 2007