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12/05/2005
New legal aid proposals unveiled
The Lord Chancellor has unveiled plans to reduce the amount of legal aid spent on cases.
Under a new programme of legal aid reform, lawyers will be expected to submit bids to win contracts, instead of securing legal aid contracts, which are virtually open-ended. If trials then lasted longer than expected, lawyers would have to pay the additional costs, instead of taxpayers.
Lord Falconer said that the new proposals would bring an end to the days of trials that lasted eighteen months. He said that most cases should not last longer than a few months.
The new proposals will aim to reduce the amount of money spent on criminal cases, in order to spend more money on civil cases, such as family hearings, including divorce and custody cases. They will also aim to reduce the length of most trials and make prosecution and defence teams come to agreements on more areas of a case before it comes to court.
The Law Centres Federation has “cautiously” welcomed the new proposals. Steve Hynes, Director of the Law Centres Federation, said: “Law Centres tell us that they are increasingly forced to turn vulnerable people away due to a lack of resources. The Lord Chancellor’s recognition of the civil legal aid crisis brought on by a 22% drop in expenditure is the first step to repairing this system on the brink of collapse. We hope this promise will come to fruition.”
Guy Mansfield QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, also welcomed moves to make trials work more effectively, but said that barristers were not being paid effectively for case preparation. He said: “Effective management means proper preparation by the trial advocate at a much earlier stage. This has to be paid for up front. The current system of payment is ten years old. It is grotesquely out of date. It does not reflect modern practice.
“Barristers are as much the victims of delay as others involved in trials. Case management hearings for which they prepare for many hours are paid just £100. The fee for turning up to conduct a trial adjourned because of an absent witness or defendant is £46.50. These fees are before travel and tax. This must be addressed.
“Most criminal barristers are doing poorly paid work; a significant amount of preparation and written work is simply unpaid. Barristers do it from a sense of duty. But they won't for much longer, if the noises from practitioners are anything to go by.”
(KMcA/SP)
Under a new programme of legal aid reform, lawyers will be expected to submit bids to win contracts, instead of securing legal aid contracts, which are virtually open-ended. If trials then lasted longer than expected, lawyers would have to pay the additional costs, instead of taxpayers.
Lord Falconer said that the new proposals would bring an end to the days of trials that lasted eighteen months. He said that most cases should not last longer than a few months.
The new proposals will aim to reduce the amount of money spent on criminal cases, in order to spend more money on civil cases, such as family hearings, including divorce and custody cases. They will also aim to reduce the length of most trials and make prosecution and defence teams come to agreements on more areas of a case before it comes to court.
The Law Centres Federation has “cautiously” welcomed the new proposals. Steve Hynes, Director of the Law Centres Federation, said: “Law Centres tell us that they are increasingly forced to turn vulnerable people away due to a lack of resources. The Lord Chancellor’s recognition of the civil legal aid crisis brought on by a 22% drop in expenditure is the first step to repairing this system on the brink of collapse. We hope this promise will come to fruition.”
Guy Mansfield QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, also welcomed moves to make trials work more effectively, but said that barristers were not being paid effectively for case preparation. He said: “Effective management means proper preparation by the trial advocate at a much earlier stage. This has to be paid for up front. The current system of payment is ten years old. It is grotesquely out of date. It does not reflect modern practice.
“Barristers are as much the victims of delay as others involved in trials. Case management hearings for which they prepare for many hours are paid just £100. The fee for turning up to conduct a trial adjourned because of an absent witness or defendant is £46.50. These fees are before travel and tax. This must be addressed.
“Most criminal barristers are doing poorly paid work; a significant amount of preparation and written work is simply unpaid. Barristers do it from a sense of duty. But they won't for much longer, if the noises from practitioners are anything to go by.”
(KMcA/SP)
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