The Chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has hit out at ‘completely unacceptable’ delays to £15m fee increases promised by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The MoJ is currently consulting on the spending increase, which would be fed into the advocates’ graduated fee scheme (AGFS) for criminal defence advocates in the Crown Court. The MoJ promised the extra money at a meeting with the CBA in May, in return for criminal barristers suspending their protest action.
However, the four-week consultation, which was originally pitched to begin in mid-July, did not start until 31 August and has now been extended by a further fortnight to 12 October.
CBA Chair Chris Henley QC, in his weekly message to members, said Bar leaders were told of the extension in an email at 20:28 the night before, and that the MoJ are now aiming for a December commencement date.
Expressing ‘profound unhappiness’ at the delay, Henley said that when the offer of the £15m increase was made, ‘no one in the room believed that come October the new enhanced fees would not be in place’.
‘Any remaining trust is hanging by a fraying thread,’ he said.
‘Every week that passes saves the MoJ money, and costs us. This has not escaped us, and will not have escaped them. We know of no legal reason why the new fees cannot be backdated. We are waiting to be shown any legal advice, if it exists, that would prevent this.’
Moreover, Henley said the modelling data released by the MoJ suggested the fee rises being consulted on would have delivered only an £8.6m increase to the annual budget, which was ‘not good enough’.
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