The government’s £34m funding plan to bolster the barrister workforce within the criminal legal aid sector will benefit men more than women and undermine the government’s mission to tackle violence against women and girls, representative groups have warned.

The Ministry of Justice’s plan for carving up the cash, which was announced last December, includes a 30% fee uplift for guilty pleas but no increase to the daily fee for attending trials that last more than a day.

The Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association point out in their consultation responses that guilty pleas are less common in cases involving rape and serious sexual offences and these trials are often done by female barristers. By contrast, guilty pleas are common in drug offences and these trials are often done by male barristers.

The Bar Council said women barristers who do back-to-back RASSO trials would not benefit from a guilty plea fee increase 'and would suffer' from no increase to the daily attendance fee.

The CBA said: ‘Bearing in mind the government’s avowed intent to focus on tackling violence, sexual violence and abuse of women and girls, this proposal is likely to have a disastrous effect in driving ever more practitioners out of RASSO work which in turn will increase the backlog in these cases, cause further victim attrition, and cause victims to suffer attritional delay.'

Barrister's wig

Barristers say proposed fee reforms will drive lawyers out of doing rape and serious sexual offences work

Source: Michael Cross

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The Bar Council and CBA are fuming that the fee increases would apply only to new instructions after the revised rates come into force. With cases in the 80,000-strong backlog being listed into 2029, they say barristers will not feel the benefits of the uplifts for years and note that the Legal Aid Agency was able to apply fee increases to ongoing cases following a 2022 funding settlement. They are also unimpressed that some of the £34m, which includes VAT, is beng used to resolve a spending shortfall from that settlement.

The government is urged to uplift fees for daily attendance fees and establish an annual review mechanism tied to inflation. The CBA says the Retail Price Index, a measure of inflation, has risen by 19.8% since 2022, while public sector pay has jumped by 24.9% and Crown court judicial salaries by 22%. 

The consultation closes on 2 September.