Written question asked by Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour) on Thursday, 4 September 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 September 2025. It was answered by Sarah Sackman (Labour) on Friday, 12 September 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
Barristers: Fees and Charges
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will establish an independent body to review and make recommendations on barristers’ fees for publicly funded criminal work.
- Answer
-
This Government recognises that legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It enables those individuals who need it most to have access to publicly funded legal assistance, in order to uphold their legal rights.
This Government has made a significant investment towards criminal legal aid, as part of which we continue to consider the amount and nature of that funding. In December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to help support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid sector. The consultation has now closed, and we will publish the response in due course. This is in addition to our response to the Crime Lower consultation, confirming an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel in certain circumstances. Together, these changes provided a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers. Since the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), funding for defence advocates has increased by 17%.
The Ministry of Justice engages closely with representatives from the legal profession through the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board (CLAAB). Its purpose is to provide independent advice on the operation and structure of the existing and future criminal legal aid schemes, and to assess how these schemes can support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 75131
- Session
- 2024-26
- Subjects
- Criminal proceedings Barristers Fees and charges
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2025-09-23 16:36:04 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/75131
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/75131
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/75131