Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Publicly Funded Barristers

Thursday 10 December 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law according to the Government.
  • The Government values the work of criminal defence lawyers and support for publicly funded barristers is regularly discussed in meetings with the Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association.
  • An additional 51 million of funding has been allocated specifically for publicly funded barristers and lawyers through the criminal legal aid review.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Afzal Khan Lab Manchester Rusholme
Justice & Courts
Context

Discussions about providing financial support for publicly-funded barristers, considering the impact of the pandemic and long-standing issues with legal aid funding.

Question

What discussions she has had Cabinet colleagues on providing financial support for publicly-funded barristers. The question highlights the difficulties faced by criminal defence lawyers due to a lack of funding increase in 25 years and recent cuts that threaten the viability of many practices, especially exacerbated by coronavirus.

Answer from Suella Braverman

Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law, and the Government greatly value the work that they do. In my meetings with the Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association and with circuit leaders, support for the publicly funded Bar is always high on the agenda. There are three things here. First, at the beginning of the pandemic, the CPS made changes to its system for paying fees to advocates to support them at that difficult time. Secondly, the Government made it easier for barristers to claim hardship payments for Crown court work. Thirdly, in August, the Government invested an extra £51 million into the criminal legal aid fee scheme to better reflect the important work that criminal barristers do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about discussions with Cabinet colleagues was not directly addressed; instead, general support for publicly-funded barristers and recent initiatives were discussed.

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Q2 Afzal Khan Lab Manchester Rusholme
Justice & Courts
Context

The absence of additional legal aid funding for practitioners in the Chancellor's spending review, coupled with a 25-year lack of increase and decade-long cuts that threaten many practices' viability.

Question

It was extremely disappointing to see no further funding for legal aid practitioners announced in the Chancellor's spending review. There has not been a rise in legal aid payments for 25 years, and a decade of Government cuts to legal aid have left thousands of practitioners facing the prospect of going out of business, even before coronavirus. Does the Attorney General agree that legal aid practitioners should have been included in the spending review?

Answer from Suella Braverman

As I have already mentioned, the £51 million of additional funding through the criminal legal aid review has been allocated specifically for those publicly funded barristers and lawyers of whom the hon. Gentleman speaks. The next phase of CLAR will involve an independently led review that will ensure the market meets demands, provides value for money for the taxpayer and provides for defendants to continue to receive high-quality advice from a diverse range of practitioners, protecting access to justice now and into the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about including legal aid in the spending review was not directly addressed; instead, recent funding allocation and future plans were discussed.

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