The Law Society has called for the legal aid means test to be uprated, following a devastating report into the state of the criminal justice system.
Published last week, the report, ‘Justice on Trial 2019’ details a shortage of criminal law solicitors due to low fees for legal aid work. The average age of a criminal duty solicitor across the whole of England and Wales is now 47 years, a demographic that means areas of the country could be left unrepresented in the future.
The report criticises ‘release under investigation’, which leaves suspects and victims in limbo for months while police decide whether to pursue the case. Disclosure delays can prolong unnecessary legal processes.
Many people on low incomes who are accused of a crime are forced to pay fees or contributions they can’t afford due to the legal aid means test. Those who sit above the legal aid threshold incur an ‘innocence tax’—they can be found not guilty but, since 2012, can only claim back costs at legal aid rates, which often leaves a 50%-75% shortfall. Meanwhile, court closures are making it harder for many people on low incomes to attend hearings.
The society also supports the introduction of an independent legal aid task force to analyse the funding required to make the system sustainable; reducing delays by stopping courts from using ‘warned’, ‘block’ and ‘floating’ lists of cases that might not go ahead; and increasing remuneration rates to retain lawyers in the criminal law field.
Other key recommendations were for the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) to be replaced by an automated system, and for the introduction of a centralised IT system for booking legal visits to prisoners.
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