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 … Read more 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 recommend that the Government consider linking legal aid fees to the rates of pay of the Crown Prosecution Service. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 with Criminal Bar Association’s interim submission to the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid that there needs to be a connection between the two. Further, in assessing the fees paid to advocates, it is important to remember that the total fees do not translate directly to earnings, as barristers have to pay considerable overheads, expenses and chambers fees out of the gross fee. The Government should take this into account when considering how to reform the criminal legal aid system. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 prioritise quality over quantity and to allow criminal defence lawyers to spend more time on the most difficult cases at the earliest possible stage. There is a risk to the fairness of the criminal justice system if lawyers are not willing to take on the most complex cases because of the low rates of pay. There are also clear benefits for the operation of the criminal justice system if more work can be done at an early stage to make progress on a case. The Government should reform the fee structure to prioritise quality over quantity and to allow criminal defence lawyers to spend more time on the most difficult cases at the earliest possible stage. There is a risk to the fairness of the criminal justice system if lawyers are not willing to take on the most complex cases because of the low rates of pay. There are also clear benefits for the operation of the criminal justice system if more work can be done at an early stage to make progress on a case. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 legal aid system to ensure that high- quality work at every stage of proceedings and on complex cases is fairly remunerated. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 thereafter automatically uprated every year in line with inflation. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 receive free legal representation at the police station. Show less

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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. Read more 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. Show less

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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.

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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 … Read more 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 legal support to vulnerable litigants. We commend the Government and the Legal Aid Agency on their work on the duty scheme, but ask that they learn the lesson that schemes which are “assertive and flexible”, as Simon Mullings described the possession duty scheme, are what is needed. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 lead to greater number of litigants in person in the family courts and in tribunals, we urge the Government to consider providing more accessible and effective forms of support. Show less

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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.

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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 … Read more 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 need. We agree with a number of witnesses that the current model of predominantly funding services by funding individual cases, often via fixed fees, will not enable providers to meet the need or demand for legal aid services. As Richard Miller told us “it is a bit strange that we have The Future of Legal Aid 71 a system where the Legal Aid Agency makes decisions on each individual case, leading to extensive bureaucracy, which of course has a cost in itself”. Instead, a more flexible and proactive approach is required. The Government should fund more training opportunities for legal aid lawyers to ensure that there those willing to pursue a career in publicly funded work are able to. The Government should provide more direct grants to organisations who can be relied upon to provide a high-quality and economical viable service. The Government should set up and run more duty schemes to help the vulnerable litigants within the justice system who have not been able to secure the services of a lawyer. The Government should ensure that fees for publicly funded work are regularly uprated in line with inflation. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 is a significant opportunity to use technology to both expand the capacity of providers and to extend the reach of legal aid providers to more people. The Government should support legal aid providers to upgrade their digital infrastructures. This should include helping smaller providers and Not-for- Profits procure the necessary hardware and case management software that could help them expand their capacity. The Government should also establish an Online Platform for Legal Advice, as suggested by JUSTICE, that is given prominence by HMCTS online that directs people to advice provided by legal aid providers. Expanding the availability and accessibility of online advice by legal aid providers, particularly at an early stage, could serve to both enhance existing face-to-face services and extend the reach of providers. The Government should support legal aid providers to upgrade their digital infrastructures. This should include helping smaller providers and Not-for- Profits procure the necessary hardware and case management software that could help them expand their capacity. The Government should also establish an Online Platform for Legal Advice, as suggested by JUSTICE, that is given prominence by HMCTS online that directs people to advice provided legal aid providers. (Paragraph 137) 72 The Future of Legal Aid Legal aid agency Show less

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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. … Read more 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 the future. We would also suggest that the Agency considers whether any of the changes made to deal with the pandemic should be made permanent. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 alter the fundamental dynamics that determine their role within the broader legal aid system. Nevertheless, we believe that the evidence submitted indicates that the Government and 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 the trees. The Government’s work on the sustainability of both criminal and civil legal aid should consider how to empower the Legal Aid Agency to take a more flexible and proactive approach to funding legal aid. The Government should ensure that providers are not required to conduct disproportionate amounts of unpaid work to apply for funding. Show less

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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 … Read more 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 legal aid providers, placing greater trust in their ability to decide on eligibility would expand their capacity which would be beneficial for access to justice. Show less

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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.

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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. … Read more 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 expand its data collection and publication in order to better inform the development of legal aid policy. (Paragraph 155) The Future of Legal Aid 73 Show less

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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.

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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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.

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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 …

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The Exceptional Case Funding system should be reformed.

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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