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Select Committee · Justice Committee

Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission

Status: Open Opened: 26 Mar 2025 7 recommendations 35 conclusions 1 report
Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commis… HC 749 23 May 2025 42 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
4 Conclusion 3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal… Rejected

CCRC leadership unnecessarily delayed report publication based on misunderstood election guidance.

The Committee does not understand why the CCRC would consider itself bound by the government’s General Election guidance. Even if it did consider the guidance applicable, we do not understand why applying that guidance would lead to the conclusion that the report should not be published, given that this was …

Government response. The government rejects the committee's view, asserting that the CCRC, as an NDPB, was bound by the General Election guidance. The Ministry of Justice, with agreement from the Cabinet Office, concluded that publishing the Henley report during the pre-election period …
Ministry of Justice
28 Conclusion 3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal… Rejected

CCRC's independence from the Ministry of Justice appears compromised in practice.

We are concerned about the CCRC’s independence and its relationship with the Ministry of Justice. Independence requires the chair and senior leadership to prioritise and defend the interests and constitutional functions of the institution above all. In practice, this does not appear to be happening. This is demonstrated by the …

Government response. The government explains and defends the delay in publishing the Henley report, stating it adhered to pre-election guidance for NDPBs. It asserts that its relationship with the CCRC is based on the Cabinet Office's Arm's Length Body Sponsorship Code of …
Ministry of Justice

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
29 Apr 2025 Amanda Pearce · Criminal Cases Review Commission, Karen Kneller · Criminal Cases Review Commission View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
1 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Lord Chancellor, dated 28 June 2025: Terms of Reference…
21 May 2025 — Correspondence to Karen Kneller, Chief Executive of the Criminal Cases Review C…
13 May 2025 — Correspondence from Karen Kneller, Chief Executive of the Criminal Cases Review…