Consultation Response - Criminal Legal Aid: Proposals for Solicitor Fee Scheme Reform
Criminal Legal Aid: Proposals for Solicitor Fee Scheme Reform
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will increase fees for criminal legal aid solicitors, covering work carried out by legal aid providers at police stations, in magistrates’ courts, in the Crown Court and in prisons. The reforms intend to support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid sector and carry some important consequences for children and young people in the criminal justice system, especially those needing legal representation at police stations or in the Youth Court.
Details
The reformed solicitor fee scheme is a response to long-standing concerns over the criminal legal aid sector which, according to the MoJ in the consultation response, had become ‘stretched to breaking point, after years of underinvestment and neglect’ (page 5). By raising legal representation fees across all stages of the criminal justice system, the MoJ seeks to ensure that defendants, including children and young people, continue to have access to qualified legal representation. The reforms aim to make the legal aid system more sustainable for those who serve within it and to provide better access to justice for those who depend on it.
Following the consultation, the MOJ has announced the following changes for criminal legal aid:
- Harmonise the fixed fee for all police station schemes at £320 (excluding VAT) and to harmonise the escape fee threshold at £650 (excluding VAT)
- Increase all magistrates’ courts fees by 10%
- Establish a fixed ratio of 65:75:100 between guilty plea, cracked trial, and trial basic fees under the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS)
- Increase the basic fees for the lowest paying offences under the LGFS
- Increase prison law fees by 24%
- Increase fees for appeals work by 10%
The MoJ plans to amend the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 to reflect the decisions made on fee changes. As the reforms are being introduced in two phases, there will be a transition period.
The first set of increases is planned to take effect from December 2025 and will cover the crime-lower fee increases in police stations, magistrates’ courts, prisons and certain appeals. The remaining changes (including the Crown Court / LGFS reforms) will follow once the necessary digital and operational updates are completed. The fee increases will be applied to all new cases that start after the specified start dates.
Commentary
Due to these reforms, both early-stage (police-station) support and court-representation in Youth Court will become better funded. The 10% increase in magistrates’ courts fees applies also to cases in Youth Court. This increase comes on top of the earlier increase in Youth Court fees as a result of the Crime Lower Consultation in December 2024, when a separate Youth Court enhancement fee scheme was introduced. The separate scheme takes into account the required specialist knowledge and additional complexities that come with representation in the Youth Court as compared to cases in the magistrates’ court.
In addition to an increased standard fee in the Youth Court, the Youth Court enhancement and duty solicitor hourly rates will also be increased. The Youth Court enhancement fee pays an additional fixed fee for the most serious offences (all indictable only and triable either-way cases). This is paid in addition to the current fees paid for Youth Court cases under the magistrates’ fee scheme and applies to lower and higher standard fee cases. In instances of the non-standard fee, the enhanced fee amount is paid in addition to the hourly rates.
These fee increases are a welcome step and will hopefully improve the quality of youth justice advocacy. Prior fee levels were such that youth cases were often undertaken by junior or inexperienced lawyers along with insufficient opportunity to effectively prepare for the case.[1] The 2021 Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid also highlighted that the existing fee structure in the Youth Court discouraged practitioners from spending more time on those cases that required the greatest care and attention. The increased fees therefore represent an attempt to ensure that children and young people are represented by practitioners with the appropriate specialist expertise and capacity to provide high-quality, child-focused legal support.
However, in order for children to receive a better standard of representation these fee increases need to be accompanied by a corresponding requirement for lawyers to undertake specialist youth justice training. This is an issue the MOJ are actively trying to remedy through their Quality of Advocacy Working Group. YJLC are a member of this group and offer training to lawyers wanting to improve their youth justice skills and knowledge.
Footnotes