Miscarriages of justice will happen if the Ministry of Justice ignores the inequality of arms between the prosecution and defence when it comes to how much forensics experts are paid, peers have warned in a damning report.
The Lords’ science and technology committee today described the forensic science system as a ‘national scandal in the making’, with the system 'continuing to atrophy despite repeated warnings'.
On legal aid, the committee heard during its inquiry that the Crown Prosecution Service pays more than £130 an hour for an expert, whereas the Legal Aid Agency pays defence experts £83 an hour. Defence solicitors are required to get three quotes – but finding three experts is difficult because of the lower pay.
Courts minister Sarah Sackman told the committee that defence experts outside London are paid £104 an hour, defence experts in the capital are paid £83 an hour, and officials think the rates are capable of sustaining the existing market. The rules around multiple quotes have changed and providers might be asked to obtain an extra quote if the rate they seek looks ‘out of kilter’.
The committee said the defence community of experts, who 'provide crucial external checks on bad forensic science practice and bias', was 'being allowed to wither away, risking miscarriages of justice’. While officials believe current rates can support the demand for defence experts, ‘the size of the defence expert market will depend on the legal aid rate’ and ‘the true metric for success is whether bad forensic science is challenged and miscarriages of justice avoided’.
Legal aid rates have been a longstanding concern, with the Forensic Science Regulator warning in 2019 about the impact of low rates on standards.
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