Additional funding for vital public service must not be a one-off

News

Solicitors’ leaders have warned that additional criminal legal aid funding must not be a one-off if there is to be a viable future for this vital public service.

The Law Society of England and Wales has responded to the Criminal Legal Aid: Proposals for Solicitor Fee Scheme Reform consultation which ends tomorrow (4 July).

The consultation sets out proposals for changes to the criminal legal aid solicitor fee schemes. This covers work carried out by solicitors at police stations, in magistrates' courts, in the Crown Court, and in prisons.

“Like the NHS or education, criminal legal aid is a vital public service,” said Law Society president Richard Atkinson.

“But decades of neglect and underfunding have led to a real danger that solicitors won’t be there when needed to provide this crucial legal advice.

“The increases proposed in the consultation are, therefore, a welcome first step in the right direction.

“However, there remains concern whether, given the impact of inflation, this additional funding will be sufficient for criminal legal aid firms to remain viable and to recruit young solicitors to work in criminal legal aid.”

Research by the Law Society shows that since 2017, more than 1,400 criminal duty solicitors have left the sector. The average age of a duty solicitor is 51 and just 7% are under 35 years old.

In its consultation response the Law Society sets out how the additional money could make a more meaningful impact if it was spent in a different way. Suggestions include:

• Introducing enhanced police station fees for out of hours work and complex cases

• Introduction of interim payments for magistrates’ courts work

• Complete reform of the Litigators' Graduated Fee Scheme

• Increasing the cracked trial fee to 95% of the trial fee

• Increasing fees for appeals work

“It is essential that regular annual cost of living increases are put in place to give the profession confidence that the government has a long-term commitment to criminal legal aid,” added Richard Atkinson.

“Without such a commitment, even these welcome increases will not be sufficient to assure firms that there is a viable future in this work. Any further decline in criminal legal aid solicitor numbers will put access to this vital public service in peril.”

Notes to editors

See the consultation.

Contact the Press Office for a copy of our full submission.