Step forward for criminal legal aid

News

Criminal legal aid fee increases are a step forward for this vital public service, says the Law Society of England and Wales.

The government today announced its consultation response on proposals for solicitor fee scheme reform.*

“We all benefit from there being enough criminal legal aid lawyers to carry out this crucial work at police stations, in magistrates' courts, in the Crown Court, and in prisons,” said Law Society vice president Brett Dixon.

“Criminal defence lawyers help ensure that there is a level playing field across the system, that cases can be dealt with efficiently and that victims, witnesses and defendants can get timely justice and fair outcomes.

“This additional investment is a positive step forward and a short-term boost for the profession after decades of underfunding and cuts.

“We are particularly pleased to see the government has taken on our feedback including increasing the escape fee for police station work.**

“Disappointingly, the Ministry of Justice has not chosen to address the additional costs of out-of-hours work.”

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

“To give the profession confidence that the government has a long-term commitment to criminal legal aid, it also needs to implement annual cost-of-living increases,” added Brett Dixon.

Notes to editors

* See the government consultation response.

** The government will be changing the ‘escape fee’ for police station work, so it will be set at £650 instead of £900. This means if a solicitor does more work than the fixed fee, they only have to reach £650 in costs to be able to claim an excess fee, instead of £900.