£34 million extra funding
The government has set out how it plans to spend up to £34 million a year on legal aid for the criminal bar, with the money going towards higher fees for the barristers who prosecute and defend publicly funded cases.
Deputy prime minister and justice secretary David Lammy first announced the £34 million in December last year. It came on top of a separate boost of up to £92 million a year for criminal legal aid solicitors.
The announcement comes after Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review of the criminal courts, which said the system needed financial investment alongside structural reform. Ministers say the extra funding will help keep cases moving and cut the Crown Court backlog, which now stands at more than 80,000 cases.
The consultation, which opened yesterday, sets out how the money would be shared out through the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), which determines renumeration for advocates representing legally aided defendants.
Under the new funding plan, all barristers will get a general 6% increase in fees, with targeted rises on certain work taking the average to around 11%, climbing to more than 13% for rape and serious sexual offence cases, and almost 50% for some guilty pleas.
Furthermore, currently a barrister whose case ends in a guilty plea is paid a basic fee worth half of what they would get for taking the same case to trial. Under the new plan, that would rise to 65%. The government says the increase better reflects the preparation barristers put in before a plea is entered, and could encourage more cases to be resolved earlier, making the courts more efficient.
Courts minister Sarah Sackman KC said victims “deserve to see justice delivered without unnecessary delay”, and that the money would back the barristers who keep cases moving and help clear the backlog.
Further proposals include: higher fees for plea and trial preparation hearings, as well as increased fees for appeals in the magistrates’ courts and Court of Appeal, committals for sentence, and some pre-trial hearings.
The consultation will close on 26 August.