Criminal Defence Service (Provisional Representation Orders) Regulations 2009

I thank the Minister for his explanation of these orders which, in effect, bring in legal aid at a much earlier stage in complex fraud cases. He is right to stress that the regulations will cease to have effect on 31 December 2011—that is, in two-and-a-half-years’ time—and that the Government will then review how they have been acting and then, according to whether they have had a positive effect, decide whether to continue with them. Will the noble Lord expand a little on what he means by a "positive effect"? Does it mean that there will be savings in both time and cost in some of these complex cases—many of which, as the noble Lord put it, can last for months or years, be very expensive and a drain on the Courts Service—or are there other factors relating to justice and the administration of justice that the Government wish to take into account?