Recommendations & Conclusions
43 items
1
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Reform of criminal legal aid must prioritise a whole justice system approach, to ensure that there are incentives for everyone to work towards the fair and timely resolution of criminal cases.
Government response. 2021. Alongside this, we have developed the Criminal Justice Action Plan with partners from across the CJS to drive system recovery as we rebuild and restore from the impact of the pandemic. This Action Plan spans the system from police …
Ministry of Justice
2
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The changes made as part of the Criminal Legal Aid Review are positive and show that the Government recognises the need to make improvements to the criminal legal aid framework. It is particularly welcome that the Government has acted on pre-charge engagement. However, much more needs to be done to …
Government response. We agree that the sustainability of the legal profession is fundamental to a well-functioning justice system. Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is considering the resilience of the criminal legal aid market as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid. …
Ministry of Justice
3
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Without significant reform there is a real chance that there will be a shortage of qualified criminal legal aid lawyers to fulfil the crucial role of defending suspects and defendants. This risks a shift in the balance between prosecution and defence that could compromise the fairness of the criminal justice …
Government response. as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid, including market composition and the provider pipeline. We will address this issue in our response to his review and have committed to responding to the Review’s final report before the …
Ministry of Justice
4
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
There appears to be a growing imbalance between the ability of criminal defence firms to recruit and retain staff and that of the Crown Prosecution Service. It is fundamental to our adversarial justice system that criminal defence services have sufficient resources to provide high-quality representation to suspects and defendants. We …
Government response. as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid, including profitability (and hourly rates of pay in comparison to the Crown Prosecution Service reward package) and the provider pipeline. We will address this issue in our response to his …
Ministry of Justice
5
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The lack of any increase to criminal legal aid fees for solicitors over the past 20 years needs to be addressed. Sir Christopher Bellamy’s current review, commissioned by the Government, gives an opportunity to do this. Thereafter, fees and rates should be regularly reviewed in line with inflation, otherwise the …
Government response. In September 2020, we injected up to £51m per annum into the criminal legal aid system, through payments for reviewing unused material and sending cases to the Crown Court. From this, litigators are estimated to have received additional funding of …
Ministry of Justice
6
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The criminal justice system will be stronger if able and experienced advocates at the criminal bar are able to do publicly funded legal aid work. The gap between private and public rates has grown substantially in the past decade, and while a significant gap is to be expected, we agree …
Government response. In September 2020, we injected up to £51m per annum into the criminal legal aid system, through payments for reviewing unused material and through increased funding for cracked trials and paper heavy cases. In addition, the Criminal Legal Aid Independent …
Ministry of Justice
7
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
There are serious problems with the current fee schemes for criminal legal aid. The fees and rates do not reflect the work required. The schemes should be reformed to ensure that they offer a fair rate for the work required and are subject to regular review.
Government response. In September 2020, we injected up to £51m per annum into the criminal legal aid system, through payments for reviewing unused material and sending cases to the Crown Court. From this, litigators are estimated to have received additional funding of …
Ministry of Justice
8
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The justice system needs talented lawyers from all backgrounds to choose to practise criminal law and for the professions to be able to retain them. In 2018, The Future of Legal Aid 67 our predecessor Committee stated “that current difficulties in recruitment to the Criminal Bar could have a negative …
Government response. as part of his Independent Review, including provider diversity and what the barriers to entry, retention and career advancement within the Criminal Legal Aid profession are for individuals with protected characteristics or from lower socio-economic backgrounds or for individuals operating …
Ministry of Justice
9
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The predominance of inadequate fixed fees in the current framework is problematic. The structure of the fees does not reflect the complexity of the work required, nor does it incentivise firms to take on the most difficult cases at an early stage. The Government should reform the fee structure to …
Government response. The Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review’s Terms of Reference include a section on ‘fee review’ which is considering whether a mechanism to review fees might ensure they are flexible, can adapt to changing market conditions, encourage new providers to enter …
Ministry of Justice
10
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Committee’s inquiry on court capacity has focused on the Crown Court where the delays are the most acute. In that context, it is imperative that the criminal legal aid system should be structured to facilitate resolution of cases at the earliest possible stage in the process.
Government response. The Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review is considering whether the structure of the Criminal Legal Aid System incentivises or enables modern and proportionate methods of service delivery. The review will consider whether changes to when and how advice is provided …
Ministry of Justice
11
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The criminal legal aid system should be restructured so that it enables legal aid lawyers to provide effective representation at every stage of the process, works for complex cases and sustains providers in all areas of England and Wales. The Government should reduce the role of fixed fees within the …
Government response. The accelerated measures brought significant new funding to criminal legal aid, including to solicitors, through payments for reviewing unused material and sending cases to the Crown Court. In addition, the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review’s Terms of Reference include a …
Ministry of Justice
12
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The current criminal legal aid system does not provide enough incentives for legal representatives to take early action to progress cases through the system as quickly as possible. The legal aid fee structure should incentivise early engagement between defence lawyers and the police and the CPS. We note that the …
Government response. Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is considering whether changes to when and how advice is provided could increase efficiency including whether the structure of the Criminal Legal Aid System incentivises or enables modern and proportionate methods of service delivery. The review …
Ministry of Justice
13
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government needs to ensure that the legal aid framework is able to respond and adapt to changes in volume and practice over time in the criminal justice system.
Government response. Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is considering the resilience of the criminal legal aid market as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid, including whether a mechanism to review fees might be beneficial. We will address this issue in …
Ministry of Justice
14
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Our 2019–21 Report on the effect of Covid-19 on the legal professions discussed measures taken to provide additional income during the early stages of the 68 The Future of Legal Aid pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 means, however, that the need to take action to improve the criminal legal aid …
Government response. Government has committed to responding to Sir Christopher’s review by the end of 2021. As set out above, the accelerated measures brought significant new funding to criminal legal aid, including payments for paper heavy cases, reviewing unused material, sending cases …
Ministry of Justice
15
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should evaluate whether the money saved by the means test is justified when weighed against its impact on the fairness of criminal justice system. If the means tests for the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court are to remain then the current eligibility thresholds should be addressed and …
Government response. The legal aid means test is designed to ensure that legal aid is targeted at those most in need. We are aware that it has been some years since the eligibility thresholds have been uprated, and that is why, in …
Ministry of Justice
16
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government’s response to our report on private prosecutions concluded that the rules should be changed to level down what private prosecutors can recover from central funds. Our view is that this is the wrong approach. The right approach would be to make the system fairer by levelling up and …
Government response. As part of the Means Test Review, we are considering the income thresholds for legal representation at the Crown Court, and the associated issue of the costs that acquitted defendants may recover from central funds. Youth suspects and legal aid
Ministry of Justice
17
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We recommend that the Government implement the recommendations of the Taylor Review of Youth Justice: to review the fee structure of cases heard in the youth courts in order to raise their status and improve the quality of legal representation for children and to introduce a presumption that children should …
Government response. The Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review is considering several issues relating to youth justice, including how to ensure the legal aid fee schemes in the Police Station and Youth Court incentivise the provision of high-quality advice and representation. We know …
Ministry of Justice
18
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should consider how technology can be used to increase the accessibility of legal advice to suspects and defendants. The Government should also consider developing a scheme to enable criminal legal aid providers to upgrade their digital capacity.
Government response. Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is considering the efficiency and transparency of the criminal legal aid market as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid, including looking at how legal aid can be made responsive to user needs both …
Ministry of Justice
19
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Successive governments have prioritised efficiency and costs over the quality of the criminal justice system. The Committee’s inquiry into Court Capacity has highlighted the difficult situation facing the courts at the start of the pandemic. Unless there is significant change to criminal legal aid, there is a real risk that …
Government response. As outlined above, Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is considering the resilience of the criminal legal aid market as part of his Independent Review into Criminal Legal Aid, including profitability (and hourly rates of pay in comparison to the Crown Prosecution …
Ministry of Justice
20
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
It is frustrating, and yet unsurprising, that many of the concerns raised over the operation of the civil legal aid system by our predecessor Committee in 2015, and by Government’s post-implementation review in 2019, have been highlighted in evidence to this inquiry on the future of legal aid in 2021.
Government response. We recognise that several of the issues highlighted in the evidence provided during the inquiry are similar to those previously raised by the Committee or during the Post- Implementation Review of LASPO. During the Post-Implementation Review of LASPO we committed …
Ministry of Justice
21
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should take a whole justice system approach to the reform of the civil legal aid framework. The provision of early advice can help to make the courts The Future of Legal Aid 69 work more effectively.
Government response. recognising that legal aid forms part of a wider system, and the evidence gathered from this pilot will form part of our wider consideration on what the future civil legal aid system should look like. Social welfare law
Ministry of Justice
22
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should consider whether the model of the possession duty scheme should be used in other areas of the civil justice system where there are significant numbers of litigants in person. Non-means tested advice at court on the day of hearing could provide an economical way of offering some …
Government response. The Government agrees that the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) provides a very effective service for ensuring individuals are properly supported at court when they face the loss of their home. We are currently considering how to improve the …
Ministry of Justice
23
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. It is a positive step and recognises that more needs to be done to help separating parents. We believe that if early legal advice was available alongside mediation, this would result in an increase in the numbers using mediation …
Government response. Since the launch of the Family Mediation Scheme on 26 March 2021, the Family Mediation Council on behalf of the Ministry of Justice has tracked weekly up take of the vouchers and are continuing to collect data based on the …
Ministry of Justice
24
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We suggest that the civil legal aid system needs an updated version of the Green Form scheme, which was introduced in 1973, that would allow individuals to understand their rights and be directed to the services that are most appropriate for their situation. One suggestion we have received is that …
Government response. We are developing an early legal advice pilot, which was a commitment in the Legal Support Action Plan. The pilot will test the impact of early legal advice in social welfare law (specifically focused on housing, debt and welfare benefit …
Ministry of Justice
25
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The weight of evidence, however, is that inaction on the rising number of litigants in person is not an option. Many of the policy responses to the issue involve increasing the resources of the courts or other agencies involved in the system. With the impact of the pandemic likely to …
Government response. In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This new funding is being delivered …
Ministry of Justice
26
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We continue to be disappointed with the Ministry of Justice’s approach to gathering data on access to justice. From the evidence we heard, the data they hold may not adequately reflect the impact of litigants in person on court time and throughput. We remain concerned that the inability to produce …
Government response. One of the MoJ’s key priorities to make best use of available data to inform evidence- based policy making. It is a key priority for the Justice Secretary. The MoJ Permanent Secretary wrote to the Committee in March 2021 setting …
Ministry of Justice
27
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We welcome steps to support litigants in person. We encourage the Government to consider whether the scale of these projects and grants should be increased.
Government response. In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This new funding is being delivered …
Ministry of Justice
28
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We recognise that the Government is making progress in improving legal support and information for litigants in person, but we caution the Government that such measures should not be seen as an alternative to tailored legal advice. We are aware that in areas such as benefits, non-legally qualified specialist advisors …
Government response. In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This new funding is being delivered …
Ministry of Justice
29
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We welcome the decision to remove the £100,000 cap. However, we regret that it was ever necessary for a victim of domestic violence to have litigate to obtain legal aid because of the Government’s failure to ensure that the means test is regularly updated.
Government response. We are aware that it has been some years since different elements of the means test have been uprated, which is why the Government launched the Means Test Review. The government is clear that victims of domestic abuse must have …
Ministry of Justice
30
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We welcome the Government’s decision to review the means test for both civil and criminal legal aid. There is a strong consensus among witnesses that any revised means test for civil legal aid should be simpler, for example by using passporting, should be set at an objectively defined poverty line …
Government response. The Means Test Review is considering the full range of means-testing criteria, including income and capital thresholds and passporting provisions for people receiving certain benefits, and will look at whether capital passporting for civil legal aid applicants should be reintroduced. …
Ministry of Justice
31
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Exceptional Case Funding system should be reformed.
Government response. Following the post-implementation review of LASPO in 2019, we committed to review the application process for Exceptional Case Funding, and this work is currently ongoing within the Ministry of Justice. This includes improving signposting and communications, customer service, and review …
Ministry of Justice
32
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We recognise the strength of Richard Miller’s suggestion that judges should be empowered to make a direction that an individual needs representation and that it should be binding on the Legal Aid Agency to provide exceptional case funding in that case. Such an approach could increase access to justice for …
Government response. The ECF scheme remains a vital safety net to ensure legal aid is available where there is a risk of a breach of an individual’s rights under the ECHR. We are already working to make changes, including bringing forward improved …
Ministry of Justice
33
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Civil legal aid, like criminal legal aid, needs the Government to take decisive action to change the approach set by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 at the start of the last decade. Without such a step, the sector will continue to struggle to attract new …
Government response. We are already considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid system and this includes consideration of what the future civil legal aid system should look like and how it should be structured.
Ministry of Justice
34
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should collect and publish more detailed data on the providers of civil legal aid, in particular it should capture how much publicly funded work each provider is doing each year.
Government response. As part of our work on the sustainability of the civil legal aid market, we are working on how we can improve our data collection on the characteristics of those that provide civil legal aid. Advice deserts
Ministry of Justice
35
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Sustainability issues for civil legal aid providers are sufficiently serious to justify a complete overhaul of the system. A number of witnesses have highlighted that a combination of number of fundamental problems rather than one or two specific issues contribute to the unsustainability of civil legal aid. Furthermore, this lack …
Government response. We agree that the sustainability of civil legal aid providers is an important issue and are continuing to consider the best approach internally. We continue to engage with stakeholders on this issue and will engage with them in due course …
Ministry of Justice
36
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The basis for the radical change required in civil legal aid requires the Government to establish the level of need for civil legal aid services in England and Wales. Once that is established, the Government needs to ensure that suppliers of legal aid services have the capacity to meet that …
Government response. We are already considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market and how best to support the legal aid workforce. This includes consideration of funded posts within legal aid providers including the funding of training contracts. Alongside this, the …
Ministry of Justice
37
Conclusion
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
However, it is not a question of simply raising fees, but rather making better use of the resources available. We believe that the best way of ensuring value of money is to focus on expanding the capacity of those providers who are able to offer a high-quality service to the …
Government response. We are already considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market internally. As part of this work, we are considering whether different funding models might be appropriate in some instances.
Ministry of Justice
38
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Online legal services should not be seen as a replacement for traditional face-to-face services, especially when such a high proportion of those who qualify for legal aid do not always have reliable access to digital technology. That said, we agree with a number of submissions that have suggested that there …
Government response. As part of our commitment in the Legal Support Action Plan to better coordinate and signpost people to legal support, we have developed an online (guided pathway) signposting pilot intervention that provides people with support and signposting for housing disrepair …
Ministry of Justice
39
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We commend the Legal Aid Agency for its work supporting legal aid providers since the start of the pandemic. The approach taken by the Agency and its staff shows that it can be flexible and proactive if the circumstances allow. We recommend that the Agency continues with this approach in …
Government response. We are pleased that the Committee has recognized the efforts made by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) since the start of the pandemic to support legal aid providers. The LAA implemented over 40 contingency measures, in line with the Agency’s …
Ministry of Justice
40
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
We welcome the Legal Aid Agency’s work to respond to legal aid providers concerns in relation to the “culture of refusal”. We also recognise their commitment to ensure that taxpayers’ money is managed properly. We acknowledge that the staff and leadership at the Legal Aid Agency have limited scope to …
Government response. the Ministry of Justice need to revaluate the Legal Aid Agency’s priorities. By asking the Agency to prioritise the “error rate” over other considerations, particularly access to justice and the sustainability of providers, the Government risks missing the wood for …
Ministry of Justice
41
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should consider creating a system of earned autonomy that places more trust in the decision making of providers with strong records of high-quality decision making. The Agency’s processes should have some incentives for providers to work towards gradually reducing the burden of administrative requirements. Given the difficulties facing …
Government response. The LAA takes a proportionate and reasonable approach to contract management and assurance. The LAA seeks a balance between having confidence in the quality and compliant service provided to clients, the use of public funding, and the administrative burden on …
Ministry of Justice
42
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
The Government should consider enabling the Legal Aid Agency to provide specific support to legal aid providers to bring in trainees. This support should be targeted to areas where there is a particular shortage of specialist advice.
Government response. As part of our ongoing work considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market, we are considering how best to support the legal aid workforce. This includes consideration of funded posts within legal aid providers including the funding of …
Ministry of Justice
43
Recommendation
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
If the Government were to accept the recommendations we have made on how to approach criminal and civil legal aid it will be necessary to address the Legal Agency Aid’s priorities, its institutional capacity and how it uses its resources. The Government should consider whether the Legal Aid Agency should …
Government response. MoJ and LAA will continue to work together to identify any further opportunities in this area.
Ministry of Justice