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1086481

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when criminal legal aid remuneration rates were last raised in real terms for legal professionals.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	230737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law and the Government greatly values their contribution.</p><p> </p><p>Last year we spent £1.6bn on legal aid, with more than half on criminal legal aid. In addition, following consultation with the profession, we increased overall funding of the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) by £23m and brought forward a 1% increase in fees which came into effect along with the new scheme on 31 December 2018. This represents a 10% increase on AGFS spend in 2016-17.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we are conducting a fundamental review of criminal legal aid fee schemes, which will report back by the end of Summer 2020. This will go far beyond our previous proposals, including pre-charge advice at the police station, advice and advocacy services in the Magistrates’ Court, and litigation and advocacy services in the Crown Court.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/03/2019 16:17:14 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1086482

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of low remuneration rates for criminal solicitors on recruitment to the profession.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	230738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>Defence solicitors carry out valuable work and we are determined to ensure publicly-funded criminal defence work remains a sustainable and attractive profession.</p><p> </p><p>That is why a fundamental review of criminal legal aid fee schemes is currently underway. This will go far beyond our previous proposals, including pre-charge advice at the police station, advice and advocacy services in the Magistrates’ Court, and litigation and advocacy services in the Crown Court, and will report back by the end of Summer 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on a regular basis and takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public. Last year we spent £1.6bn on legal aid, with more than half on criminal legal aid.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/03/2019 16:19:55 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1086483

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who his Department is consulting with as part of its review into criminal legal aid fees.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	230739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>We will be working with a range of agencies and stakeholders – and the criminal defence profession in particular – to gather the necessary evidence to ensure this review is as robust and wide-ranging as possible.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently scoping the review and are already working with the professions to determine the specific issues that the review should consider. A defence practitioner advisory panel has been established to ensure practitioners’ views are carefully considered as part of the review.</p><p> </p><p>This includes representatives from the:</p><ul><li>Bar Council</li><li>Bar Council Young Barristers' Committee</li><li>Big Firms’ Group</li><li>Chartered Institute of Legal Executives</li><li>Bar Circuit Leaders</li><li>Criminal Bar Association</li><li>Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association</li><li>Law Society</li><li>Law Society Junior Lawyers Division</li><li>Legal Aid Practitioners Group</li><li>London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association</li><li>Public Defender Service</li><li>Solicitors’ Association of Higher Court Advocates</li><li>Young Legal Aid Lawyers</li></ul><p> </p><p>We will also engage with wider stakeholders, including relevant experts and user engagement groups.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/03/2019 16:31:49 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1086484

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued viability of the criminal legal aid sector while his review of criminal legal aid fees is ongoing.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	230740
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government is clear that there are sufficient solicitors and barristers to undertake criminal legal aid-funded cases and will make sure this continues to be the case. The Legal Aid Agency monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis. Where issues are identified, the LAA takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public. Last year we spent £1.6bn on legal aid, with more than half on criminal legal aid.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/03/2019 16:36:55 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1086485

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on justice of the limit on what can be paid through the Legal Aid Agency for experts’ reports in criminal cases.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	230741
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>We must continue to ensure that every aspect of fee remuneration represents value for money for the taxpayer. This includes the fees currently paid to experts.</p><p> </p><p>However, we recognise that in some specific areas, it is necessary to pay a particular level of rates to secure the necessary expertise. Therefore, the rates for some specific expert types vary, based on the nature of the expertise. Furthermore, solicitors can apply for higher expert fees under exceptional circumstances in cases where an expert’s evidence is key to the client’s case, and where either an expert with a high degree of seniority is required due to the complexity of the material, or the material is of a specialised and unusual nature that only very few experts are available to provide the necessary evidence.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 18/03/2019 16:37:46 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon