Dear all
I have received the following communication from the Ministry of Justice in relation to the current Criminal Legal Aid Review (CLAR) of advocacy fees:
“We have considered advice on work we can progress during the pre-election period…As you are aware, the pre-election period means that we are restricted in what we can and cannot say publicly, in particular if this will tie the hands of whatever government is formed following an election. Policy development falls into this category…”
The upshot of this is that due to the calling of the general election and the pre-election period that the Government is now in, the Ministry of Justice cannot make any announcements in relation to the accelerated items of the CLAR by the end of November. Any announcements will have to await the outcome of the general election and may of course now depend on who is in power or holds what office.
I met with the Lord Chancellor on Monday and he assured me of his personal commitment to progressing the CLAR. Officials at the Ministry of Justice have also assured me that they will continue to work on the review so that they are in a position to brief Ministers and hopefully make announcements once the new Government is known.
I remain in close contact with the Criminal Bar Association and Young Barristers’ Committee. We are all committed to pressing the case for increases to defence fees and will do all that we can to ensure that the CLAR is not knocked off course by the election.
