The Crown Prosecution Service faced pressure from both its own inspectorate and the Bar Council this week over its procurement of external advocates.

The Gazette has learned that the Bar Council is seeking advice on a judicial review of the CPS’s new advocate panels.

The panels, launched this month and due to come into force in October, are designed to provide the CPS with quality-assured advocates who have been assessed to undertake work.

Open to all barristers and solicitor-advocates, they will reduce the number of external advocates used by the CPS.

Following concerns raised by circuit leaders about the panels, the Bar Council is obtaining advice on whether it has grounds to challenge the scheme and seek a general review of its operation.

A Bar Council spokesman said it had been ‘prompted to reflect on its position’ after concerns were raised about the effect of the panels on barristers’ livelihoods, and a reluctance by some judges to provide references for applicants seeking to join the panels due to the length of forms.

A CPS spokesman said it is listening to feedback on the scheme and will consider making amendments.

The CPS also came under fire from its inspectorate this week in a value-for-money inspection of the way it operates its graduated fee scheme (GFS) to pay Crown court advocates in all except very-high-cost cases.

The inspectorate said the scheme did not offer the best value for money due to the CPS staff’s ‘lack of knowledge, management and control over casework’, and ‘inaccurate payments’.

The CPS spent around £175m on presenting Crown court cases in 2009/10, of which £103m was paid to external advocates under the GFS.

The inspectors assessed the way GFS was working in six CPS areas, examining 162 cases that cost £1.3m in total.

It ‘conservatively calculated’ that £202,573, or 16% of the total fees, could have been saved in these cases alone, adding that ‘significant savings’ could be made nationally if the scheme were operated more effectively.

The report criticised CPS lawyers’ limited understanding of the GFS, or the costs implications of their decisions, delays and errors.

It said the CPS needed a ‘cultural shift’ to incorporate costs implications into everyday casework.

The inspectorate said savings could be made by removing cases inappropriately sent to the Crown court due to ‘incorrect charges, indictments and a general lack of direction, control and review by lawyers’.

CPS chief operating officer Mike Kennedy said the service accepted the recommendations, adding that it was determined to drive down unnecessary costs.