The Ministry of Justice announced last week solicitors will be given a 6% boost following consultation, with a further 6% over the rest of Parliament (costing up to £92m).
The rise follows a 12% rise in fees (costing up to £24m) in force from 6 December for police station and youth court. Together, the rises will take the total uplift to 24% for solicitors.
In 2021, Lord Bellamy’s Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid urged an immediate 15% uplift in solicitors’ legal aid fees.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: ‘The increase in funding is a welcome step forward that gives solicitors hope that there is a future in providing this vital public service, but it is only a step.
‘While this means solicitors will have received more than the 15% recommended by the Bellamy Review, years of inflation means further progress is needed to deliver a sustainable future.’
Also last week, the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood increased Crown Court sitting days by a further 2,000 days to a total of 108,500 each year. In September, Mahmood increased the days by 500 from 106,000 to 106,500.
The backlog currently stands at its highest ever of 73,000 cases, according to the most recent Ministry of Justice figures.
Mahmood has also asked Sir Brian Leveson to recommend major reforms to the criminal court system. Sir Brian is exploring ‘intermediate courts’ where cases in the middle realm of seriousness could be heard by a judge flanked by magistrates, among other ideas.
