*/
Desmond Browne QC, the Chairman of the Bar Council, has criticised proposals to reform legal aid as “cuts in spending, pure and simple”.
In August, the Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) set out its plans to “rebalance” the £2 billion legal aid budget, in its consultation, Legal Aid: Funding Reforms . These include “rationalising” the rate of pay for defence barristers in Crown Court cases so that they are brought more in line with CPS rates, which are on average 23 per cent less.
Browne warned: “Cuts on this scale will not merely drive down quality, they will force practitioners out of legal aid work.
The Bar accepts that there has been a lack of parity between prosecution and defence fees. That disparity arose simply because the CPS did not revise their rates in line with those of Lord Carter.
“It is the height of perversity to turn this issue on its head and force defence fees down to the level of unacceptably low prosecution fees.”
Browne has written to the heads of criminal sets asking for their views on how best to respond to “see off ” the proposal.
The MoJ also proposes to reduce fees for police station work in some areas, combine work on committals into one fixed fee, end payments for criminal file reviews, and pay experts the same for work in civil as in criminal cases.
Barristers have until 12 November to respond to the consultation.
Browne warned: “Cuts on this scale will not merely drive down quality, they will force practitioners out of legal aid work.
The Bar accepts that there has been a lack of parity between prosecution and defence fees. That disparity arose simply because the CPS did not revise their rates in line with those of Lord Carter.
“It is the height of perversity to turn this issue on its head and force defence fees down to the level of unacceptably low prosecution fees.”
Browne has written to the heads of criminal sets asking for their views on how best to respond to “see off ” the proposal.
The MoJ also proposes to reduce fees for police station work in some areas, combine work on committals into one fixed fee, end payments for criminal file reviews, and pay experts the same for work in civil as in criminal cases.
Barristers have until 12 November to respond to the consultation.
Desmond Browne QC, the Chairman of the Bar Council, has criticised proposals to reform legal aid as “cuts in spending, pure and simple”.
In August, the Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) set out its plans to “rebalance” the £2 billion legal aid budget, in its consultation, Legal Aid: Funding Reforms. These include “rationalising” the rate of pay for defence barristers in Crown Court cases so that they are brought more in line with CPS rates, which are on average 23 per cent less.
Barbara Mills KC, the new Chair of the Bar, outlines some key themes and priorities
A family lawyer has won a £500 donation for her preferred charity, an education centre for women from disadvantaged backgrounds, thanks to drug, alcohol and DNA testing laboratory AlphaBiolabs’ Giving Back campaign
Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management highlights some of the ways you can cut your IHT bill
Rachel Davenport breaks down everything you need to know about AlphaBiolabs’ industry-leading laboratory testing services for legal matters
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management sets out the key steps to your dream property
A centre of excellence for youth justice, the Youth Justice Legal Centre provides specialist training, an advice line and a membership programme
Barbara Mills KC wants to raise the profile of the family Bar. She also wants to improve wellbeing and enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in the profession. She talks to Joshua Rozenberg KC (hon) about her plans for the year ahead
Professor Dominic Regan and Seán Jones KC identify good value bottles across the price spectrum – from festive fizz to reliable reds
Reviews by Daniel Barnett
Governments who play fast and loose with the law get into real trouble, says the new Attorney General. The Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC talks to Anthony Inglese CB about what drew this boy from Cardiff to the Bar, bringing the barrister ethos to the front bench, and how he will be measuring success
Mark Neale, Director General of the Bar Standards Board, offers an update on the Equality Rules consultation
