Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 38
3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Published 23 May 2025
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We are concerned that the current structure of the CCRC does not appear to be functioning as it should. The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 created the CCRC as a body corporate, with the commissioners as members of the Commission, vested with the statutory functions to investigate and refer miscarriages of justice to the courts. At present, it appears that the relationship between the commissioners and the senior leadership team is not operating effectively. The absence of a chair, or even an interim chair, since January appears to have caused significant difficulties. The Ministry of Justice must take a degree of responsibility for not putting a plan in place to replace Helen Pitcher. (Conclusion, Paragraph 101)
From: Justice Committee, 3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (HC 749), 23 May 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 29 July 2025 (deadline 23 July 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report, agrees on the importance of strong CCRC leadership, and says many conclusions are "rightly for the CCRC and its new interim Chair to consider".
- The Ministry agrees the handling of the Malkinson case and the Henley report has damaged the CCRC's reputation, and says the Lord Chancellor has tasked interim Chair Dame Vera Baird with a review of its operation and leadership.
- On the section 23 disclosure prohibition, the Ministry has asked the interim Chair to consider it and, "if she concludes that this is hampering the effectiveness of the CCRC", to include it in her recommendations.
- On funding, it notes the budget has risen to £10.1 million for 2025/26 and says requests for increases "will be considered" through departmental processes, while it is "right to expect" the CCRC to first use existing funding cost-effectively.
- The CCRC Chair has been added to the list of roles subject to pre-appointment scrutiny, and the department "will consult the Committee" on the permanent Chair's time commitment and other aspects of the recruitment campaign.