Cuts being
put before
justice
say angry
barristers

Barristers have accused the Government of putting “cuts before justice” as a consultation on legal aid reforms comes to a close.

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, told the Ministry of Justice it has put “instant savings above the long-term health of the justice system”.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s reforms will see prisoners’ access to legal aid limited, a household disposable income threshold for criminal legal aid introduced and set out proposals for reducing the cost of fees for representation.

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Mr Grayling hopes the proposals, which have been put out to a consultation, will deliver savings of £220m per year by 2018/19.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said the department had tried to ensure the proposals have more impact on high earners, pointing out that 70 per cent of criminal barristers contracted to so-called Very High Cost Cases receive fee incomes of more than £100,000.

Handing in the Bar Council’s response to the Government, Maura McGowan QC, chairman of the Bar, said: “Over a period of several months, we have entered into conversations with Government openly and honestly to try to find a resolution on legal aid which would protect the justice system.

“It is now clear that the Government has never sought to match that intention.

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“It is hard to avoid the conclusion that it has put cuts before justice.

“What we have seen instead is the denigration of thousands of members of the profession, who work hard in the public interest, whether in civil or criminal courts, and have had to endure deeper cuts than anywhere else in the public sector.”

Ms McGowan QC accused Ministers and civil servants of quoting “inaccurate figures” on legal aid spend per year compared with other countries.

The Law Society, which represents some 130,000 solicitors in England and Wales, said while it welcomes some revisions made to the proposals, it continues to be concerned about proposals for flat fees in magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court and a single national fixed fee for police station work.

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Law Society President Nicholas Fluck said: “The current proposals for a single national fixed fee for police station work will have a disproportionate effect on firms in high-cost areas where the cost of doing business is greater.”

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “We agree criminal lawyers should be paid adequately for their work.

“The Bar Circuit Leaders published a letter today stating most criminal barristers’ net earnings are around £35 to £40 an hour.

““We have engaged constructively and consistently with lawyers – including revising our proposals in response to their comments.”

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