The government has stated that there is no more money for criminal legal aid for the foreseeable future, and that retaining the status quo is not an option. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) says that it is committed to consulting on an alternative approach to procuring defence services during 2013, and intends to introduce the new system in 2015.
Even if the current fee structure were to be retained there is an ever-present risk of further fee cuts in the future. In the meantime, the MoJ has stated that it is willing to listen to ideas put forward by the profession for different forms of tendering/better ways of organising the market.
We believe that the best prospect of dissuading the government from introducing a potentially very damaging system of price competitive tendering is to persuade the MoJ that there is a better alternative that will avoid doing so much damage to the criminal justice system, while still delivering sufficient savings to meet the government's deficit reduction target.
To help our discussions with the MoJ, we'd like to hear your views on what an alternative model for criminal legal aid funding should look like.
Complete our survey - closing date: 21 December