Court forms: rules introduced without revised pay rates

The pilot scheme trialling court forms brought in last month under the new Criminal Procedure Rules has been dealt another blow with barristers at Preston Crown Court refusing to take cases under the regime unless they receive adequate funding.


Under the scheme, counsel attending the new pleas and case management hearings are expected to be ready for trial, which involves substantial preparatory work for which they will not receive payment, other than the £100 appearance fee, if they do not conduct the trial.


In an e-mail sent last week to all chambers on the north-eastern circuit, Peter Collier QC, leader of the circuit, told senior clerks that some Preston solicitors have been seeking alternative counsel to accept instructions as a result of the action. He said any decision to accept work must be made by individual counsel - and not chambers or the circuit - on competition grounds.


Mr Collier, who has personally decided not to handle cases in Preston, said: 'In principle, the bar supports the new rules but they should not have been introduced without revised payment rates.'


Barristers at the Central Criminal Court withdrew from the pilot last month over the issue of funding (see [2005] Gazette, 14 April, 5). Nottingham Crown Court is also taking part but is not expecting advocates to do any more than was required under an old-style pleas and directions hearing until an enhanced payment rate is agreed.


Last week, the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer called for more work earlier in criminal cases as a way to reduce their length, and pledged proper pay for it. He said judges should try to facilitate one advocate running a case from start to finish.