In December 2021, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) published Sir Christopher Bellamy QC’s independent review into criminal legal aid. This explored what is working well and what more could be done to improve criminal legal aid for providers and the public. Amongst other things, the review recommended uplifted fees for criminal cases involving children and a linked system of accreditation for lawyers acting in these cases (see our legal update here).
The MOJ is now consulting on its proposals to reform criminal legal aid and uplift fees in line with these overarching objectives. The consultation seeks views on the implementation of these proposals and their impact on the wider criminal justice system.
This consultation is open to anyone who wishes to make a contribution but may be of most interest to:
- criminal defence professional representative bodies
- CILEX professionals, solicitors, solicitors’ firms, barristers, chambers and other criminal defence practitioners
- those otherwise working in the criminal justice system or working with and for suspect and defendants
The MOJ's response can be found here.
We encourage everyone to respond to the consultation.