Government spending on criminal legal aid has continued to spiral upwards - despite the fact that solicitors have not seen a similar increase in rates - provoking concerns that the civil fund is under a bigger threat than ever.

Latest figures released to Parliament by legal aid minister David Lammy showed that payments under the duty solicitor scheme have risen from £154 million in 2001/2002 to £175 million in 2003/2004, although payments made for magistrates court work have dropped to less than £24 million.



Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said he had concerns about future rises in the crime budget, which were clearly down to more arrests and nothing to do with rates increases for solicitors. 'The shift in [criminal justice] policies has inevitable cost consequences,' he explained.



Mr Warren warned that the government was ignoring the figures at the expense of the long-term health of the civil legal aid fund. 'Where is the money coming from?' he demanded. 'It can only be at the expense of the civil budget.'



Meanwhile, pay negotiations between the government and crown prosecutors' union the First Division Association, which recently expressed concerns about the shift in criminal work from the courts to police stations, have been delayed.


'We have been in pay talks for several months and the Department for Constitutional Affairs recently asked for negotiations to be extended into September,' an FDA spokesman said. 'As talks have been constructive [we] have agreed. Pay talks will resume later this month.'