Criminal Cases Review Commission Triennial Review - call for evidence

Overview

Triennial Review programme

The Government’s response to the Public Administration Select Committee report ‘Smaller Government: Shrinking the Quango state’ sets out the plans for reforming public bodies. It includes new Triennial Review requirements for Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB).

Triennial Reviews are expected to take between 3 – 6 months and are carried out by the Sponsor Department of the respective bodies. The Ministry of Justice is the sponsor Department for the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Purpose of Triennial Reviews

As custodians of the public purse, whether paid by the professions or directly from public funds, it is important that we deliver an efficient and effective service to the public. The periodic review of our NDPBs is one of the ways that the Government intends to ensure that we maintain a lean, but effective public sector. A Triennial Review is a Cabinet Office mandated process for reviewing the functions of NDPBs, the appropriateness of the body’s delivery mechanism and its governance arrangements.

The Cabinet Office has identified two principal aims for Triennial Reviews:

• To provide a robust challenge of the continuing need for individual NDPBs – both their functions and their form; and
• Where it is agreed that a particular body should remain as an NDPB, to review the control and governance arrangements in place to ensure that the public body is complying with recognised principles of good corporate governance.

Function of the Criminal Cases Review Commission

The Criminal Cases Review Commission was established by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It was established in 1997.  The Commission is an independent body set up to review possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and to refer appropriate cases to the appeal courts.   

Further information about the functions of Commission and its statutory framework.

Call for evidence

In order to review the continuing need for the functions and the form of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and its statutory powers to perform these functions, the review team is seeking evidence from a wide range of bodies in response to the two principle aims stated by Cabinet Office (as detailed above). The review would particularly welcome hearing from applicants (current, previous or those who may potentially apply) to the Commission.

This can be done in the form of written evidence to the following address:

CCRC Triennial Review
Post point 8.06
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Or by email