What does the future hold for criminal legal aid?

On 28 January, Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) members joined many in the legal community in breathing a collective sigh (not quite of relief), as we received confirmation from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that the second fee cut was suspended and two-tier contracts were scrapped.

In a written ministerial statement, Michael Gove acknowledged the vital role that criminal legal aid solicitors play in the justice system and explained that the decision was based on two factors:

• Government savings: according to the MoJ, annual spending on legal aid was reduced from £2.4bn to £1.6bn over the last parliament; and

• Legal challenges: 99 separate legal challenges and a judicial review of the entire procurement process were brought.

The news broke after an increasingly unpredictable and difficult period for criminal legal aid firms and practitioners. The government proposals to impose a further cut and two-tier contracts arose out of a systematic dismantling of the legal aid system as a whole. This recent development, while welcome, does little to address the uncertainty in the system and comes unhelpfully late in the day at a time when many firms are trying to cope with the first 8.75 per cent fee cut and have spent large amounts of human and financial resources on applications for the now abandoned two-tier contracts.

Our attention is now focused on how the government’s decision might affect junior and aspiring criminal lawyers. It has long been a difficult time to enter the profession as austerity is the order of the day and ideological cuts have taken place throughout legal aid. Many young people aspiring to be legal aid practitioners have found that there are very few training contracts on offer and those within the field are concerned about their place in a profession with so much uncertainty surrounding its future. 

At our last London meeting, Greg Foxsmith, the president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association, spoke about what appears to be a sea change at the MoJ, but he made it clear that there are still concerns around criminal legal aid and more funding is needed. 

It is important that any proposals to change or improve the current system of criminal legal aid are considered in light of their potential impact on young solicitors. It is critical that we avoid a generation gap among those working in criminal legal aid. If the position of junior members of the profession is not protected, there will be no 'next generation' of practitioners to continue the vital work of representing clients and ensuring access to justice.

In particular, junior duty solicitors are encouraged to contact us with their views on the current system for duty solicitors and any suggestions they have to improve it: please email crimeylal@gmail.com with your comments or views.

The decision to suspend the second fee cut and scrap two-tier contracts is a signal of hope for young lawyers committed to working in criminal legal aid. What we hope for in 2016 is more engagement from the MoJ about the best way forward, so that there can be some stability within the system to ensure firms can plan for the future in a meaningful way rather than continuously responding to attacks on access to justice. Stability would also mean opportunities for young legal aid lawyers to enter into the profession and drive it forward.

Áine Kervick is a trainee solicitor at Kingsley Napley and a member of the YLAL committee @YLALawyers www.younglegalaidlawyers.org