Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Successive governments have prioritised efficiency and costs over the quality of the criminal justice system.
Conclusion
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. (Paragraph 79) Civil legal aid
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
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 Service reward package) and the provider pipeline. 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 the market and incentivise providers to continuously improve the quality of their services. We will address this issue in our response to his review and have committed to responding to the Review’s final report before the end of 2021.