Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 19
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Published 27 Jul 2021
Paragraph 79
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee The Future of Legal Aid All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 the balance between defence and prosecution, which is at the heart of our adversarial justice system, will be unfairly tilted in favour of the prosecution. The fairness of criminal justice system depends on a criminal legal aid system that is properly funded and that is structured to enable lawyers to provide high-quality work on the most complex cases at every stage of the process. The Government’s response to the independent review of criminal legal aid must ensure that criminal lawyers are paid for all the work they do to represent their clients and that fees and rates are regularly reviewed so that the profession can remain sustainable for the long-term.
From: Justice Committee, 3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid (HC 70), paragraph 79, 27 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 November 2021 (deadline 27 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government responds mainly by pointing to ongoing reviews and pilots, in particular the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, and does not set out firm decisions on most recommendations.
- On criminal legal aid fees and sustainability, it says it "will address this issue" in its response to Sir Christopher Bellamy's review, and has "committed to responding to the Review's final report before the end of 2021".
- On the means test, it says it intends to publish the Means Test Review "alongside a public consultation shortly", and will address the report's related points following that consultation.
- On civil legal aid, it is "already considering" sustainability internally and is developing an early legal advice pilot in social welfare law, with further details to be announced "in due course".
- On judicial directions for Exceptional Case Funding, it says the Legal Aid Agency takes decisions "completely free from outside influence" and it does "not believe that this position should change".