Recommendation 48

The government must amend the legal aid means test in the magistrates’ court so that anyone charged with an either-way offence with the possibility of a sentence of 12 months or more in custody is subject to the same threshold that would apply if the case were tried in the Crown Court. The government must ensure that recommendations in the Means Test Review to change the legal aid thresholds in the magistrates’ court are implemented before the provisions in the Bill are brought into force. The government must provide a detailed timeline for when the relevant changes to legal aid eligibility will be made. (Recommendation, Paragraph 167)