Very High Cost Criminal Cases - Significant Progress Towards a New Scheme

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
NEWS RELEASE

24 October 2008 

VERY HIGH COST CRIMINAL CASES - SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS A NEW SCHEME

Significant progress is being made towards a new scheme of graduated fees for lawyers in very high cost criminal (VHCC) cases, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said today.  This has been achieved following joint work by the Bar Council, the Law Society, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Ministry of Justice.

Concerted efforts are being made to develop an improved scheme by 1 July 2009 in order to replace the current scheme introduced by the VHCC Panel in January 2008 which expires on 13 July 2009. 

In the meantime the interim provisions announced today will see increased rates for both solicitors and advocates at no additional cost to the tax payer. This is intended to ensure that VHCC cases are dealt with effectively and economically until July 2009.   

Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Jack Straw said:

"The Ministry of Justice and the Legal Services Commission are committed to the principle of graduated fees for legal practitioners with as little reliance on hourly rates as possible. This is critical to ensure the long-term sustainability of legal aid, whilst ensuring that counsel of requisite experience are available.  Urgent work is continuing on how this principle should be applied to VHCCs.

"I have been impressed by the degree of willingness of the Bar Council, the Law Society and the Legal Services Commission to work together to achieve a lasting solution. I am also grateful to my ministerial colleagues, Philip Hunt and Willy Bach for the part they have played in these difficult negotiations.

"I'm determined that by July next year, when the current scheme terminates, there is a new scheme to replace it, if humanly possible. This means that by December we must have devised a scheme sufficiently detailed for consultation.

"Meanwhile, I'm very grateful to practitioners, including barristers who have appeared without payment, for the co-operation shown in trying to ensure that major trials are not disrupted whilst negotiations have continued. There will need to be further dialogue with practitioners on the details of the new scheme, but much progress has been made."

On the interim provisions, Jack Straw went on to say:

"It is my aim to ensure that trials in the next six months should proceed without delay. So far no trial has been held up or aborted. I encourage all the parties to the negotiations to redouble their efforts so that a new scheme is in place by July 2009.  It is my hope that until that time the new rates will ensure that high quality advocates return to doing these cases."

Rates payable for VHCCs have directly affected the number of practitioners willing to take these cases.  To remedy this lack of capacity, the LSC has announced new rates subject to consultation.  After a short period of consultation these rates will apply to all solicitors and barristers working on VHCCs.

In the current economic climate the LSC's budget has to be both fixed and finite.  Expenditure on both VHCC and graduated fees schemes is constantly reviewed.  Recent analysis of the grant of certificates for two advocates has shown that this may be an area in which savings could be made and the senior judiciary, who believe that there are only very limited circumstances in which judges can properly grant two junior certificates, are currently in discussion with the wider judiciary about ways to reduce the current number.

It is anticipated that a substantial reduction may be possible and that savings could be used to fund the increases in the interim VHCC scheme.  The effectiveness of this scheme will be closely monitored and if necessary further measures will be taken to secure the savings.  This means that the effect will be cost neutral.

The work of devising a new scheme has been conducted transparently, with notes of the working group's meetings being published on the website of all four bodies being represented.  The views of practitioners have been sought and openly debated at every stage. This process has been assisted by the work of Professor Martin Chalkley of the University of Dundee who has brought an independent viewpoint to the practical realities of these very complex cases. 

Notes to Editors

• 1. Very high cost cases (VHCC) are criminal cases lasting more than 40 days at trial. They only account for only 0.1 per cent of Crown Court cases but nearly 10 per cent of the legal aid budget, or £105 million a year.
• 2. Lord Carter's review of legal aid in 2005 said that better value for money could be obtained for this work by giving defence teams some probability of increased or more consistent volume in return for some reduction in hourly rates.
• 3. The Very High Cost Cases working group including representatives of the Legal Services Commission, the Bar Council, the Law Society, the Crown Prosecution Service and Ministry of Justice officials was established to make proposals for a new VHCC scheme.
• 4. The rates for all solicitors and advocates are being changed by the same percentage. At the top end, this means that the top rate for a QC or senior solicitor engaged in the most complex of cases changes from £145 per hour to £152.50. The new rates can be found in the table below.

• 5. The Ministry of Justice Press Office can be contacted on 020 33 34 35 36.

ENDS

27.10.2008