Fund criminal defence firms or lose them, ministers told

The structure of criminal defence firms is at risk of collapse and urgently needs investment, the Law Society has warned.

There has been a steady decline in numbers of firms in the past decade―as of 1 February 2021, there were 1,109 firms holding a criminal legal aid contract, 752 fewer than in 2011. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is now heaping fresh pressure on solicitors.

HM Courts and Tribunals figures for the week ending 24 January showed 56,003 outstanding cases in the Crown courts and 474,220 in the magistrates’ courts. The latest Nightingale court, a Taunton venue that will host both a Crown court and magistrates’ court, began hearing cases this week―bringing the total number of temporary courtrooms now in operation to 42.

David Greene, Law Society president said: ‘An increase in capacity is essential to meet the growing Crown court backlog but swift further investment on a much greater scale is required to make inroads into the growing problem.

‘Backlogs mean that justice is being delayed for victims, witnesses and defendants, who have proceedings hanging over them for months, if not years, with trials listed for 2022 and, reportedly, even 2023. Given the ongoing pandemic, Nightingale courts are the best way to boost capacity to tackle the backlog while keeping court users as safe as possible.’

He called for legal aid practitioners to be paid properly and for their area of business to be economically sustainable, or the system would ‘collapse’.

‘It is alarming but not surprising to see the decline in the number of criminal legal aid firms over the past decade given the lack of government support they have received,’ Greene said.

‘While the second part of the criminal legal aid review is now under way and will hopefully provide the structural increase in resources needed for the long-term sustainability of the sector, any benefits from it are some way off. We have consistently called on the government to recognise the consistent failure to increase payments for over 20 years and that an immediate increase is a necessity to provide criminal defence solicitors with the additional funds they so desperately need.’