A future Conservative government may look to the private sector to top up the legal aid budget, the Gazette has learned.

Tory policymakers are considering how the UK’s legal aid budget could be financed if they take power at the next general election. Earlier this month, Lord Chancellor Jack Straw suggested that some legal aid lawyers could face cuts in earnings as part of government reforms.

A Conservative Party review of legal aid is examining ways to maintain spending without calling on the taxpayer, Henry Bellingham, a barrister and shadow justice minister, told the Gazette. ‘We are looking to try and bring new money from the private sector and financial sector,’ he said.

While he was unable to give details, he said ‘tight constraints’ would continue to apply as pressure grows. ‘It’s not just the cuts to legal aid. Local authority fees are going up for child protection cases. Court fees are going up. I think demand is going to go up. There are a whole host of problems. [Shadow chancellor] George Osborne isn’t going to say, "Here’s another £5m".’

Bellingham also revealed that his party wants to split the budget for civil and criminal cases.

Other leading Conservative legal figures joined the criticism of Straw’s speech. Oliver Heald, MP for North East Hertfordshire and chairman of the Society of Conservative Lawyers, called Straw’s comments an ‘insult’ to legal aid lawyers. ‘We should continue to have highly skilled lawyers available to deal with these cases and they should be fairly paid,’ he said. ‘The idea that it is more worthy to do commercial work is a terrible message for the government to be sending to legal aid lawyers and idealistic law students.’