Legal Aid: government legislation rather than profession caused rise in budget, say academics

Criminal defence solicitors have been acquitted of causing a rise in the legal aid budget by independent research suggesting the government is guilty of provoking the problem.


The report, by academics Richard Moorhead and Ed Cape, says the government has spent a decade launching crime initiatives that have failed to take into account the impact on public funding, despite the increased need they have created for defence representation.


Legislation, mainly from the Home Office, has led to more arrests and cautions and a growth in 'serious' crimes, as well as increasingly stringent investigations, such as those involving drugs testing, that require a solicitor's advice. There has been a subsequent rise of 150,000 criminal prosecutions in the magistrates' courts over the past five years, with many transferred to the crown courts, driving up the high-cost cases budget.


Professor Cape, from the University of the West of England, argued: 'Time and again, the government has introduced reforms without thinking about the legal aid implications.' Professor Moorhead, who is based at Cardiff University, added: 'A policy dominated by squeezing lawyers' costs will fail to control costs because significant problems lie elsewhere, and put the quality of defence work at serious risk.'


Criminal Law Solicitors Association director Rodney Warren welcomed the findings and said solicitors were so fed up with carrying the can, they were leaving the system in droves. 'It is no good just blaming the lawyers because some day soon there will be almost none left to blame,' he said.


Law Society President Kevin Martin said legal aid was being 'crushed' because the government was not taking into consideration the drivers that affect it. 'The government must plan, cost and fund the impact of all its new laws and crime initiatives,' he warned.


A spokesman for the Legal Services Commission, which commissioned the study, said: 'These initial findings have highlighted the impact that policy changes across the criminal justice system can have on legal aid expenditure, but do not rule out the significant impact of all forms of supplier-induced demand.'


A spokesman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs said it would work with practitioners to ensure a fairer deal for taxpayers and clients.