Recommendation 6

The government must address how it will ensure defendants are not sentenced to a year or more in prison without any legal representation. This might include, but is not limited to: a. Implementing recommendation 29 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts by increasing income thresholds for legal aid in the magistrates’ court in line with the current Crown Court thresholds for sentencing in either way cases. b. Committing to not increasing magistrates’ court sentencing powers until the recommendations of the Means Test Review, or any new government equivalent, are implemented. (Recommendation, Paragraph 25)