The first Annual Report of the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board (CLAAB) was published by the Ministry of Justice today.
CLAAB was set up as a result of the report of the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid (CLAIR), published in December 2021.
The independent Advisory Board reports at regular intervals to the Lord Chancellor to support policy development, explore improvements to the system and and foster a more coherent approach to criminal legal aid.
The Advisory Board’s report includes an important section about prison law legal aid funding which has not been increased at all this century.
“100. Prison Law was excluded from the 15% uplift. This is an area where the work has become increasingly complex, and specialist practitioners are leaving in large numbers. The Association of Prison Lawyers report published in August 2023 stated that the number of prison law legal aid providers had fallen by 85% since 2008. Three-quarters of prison lawyers surveyed did not think they would be doing prison law legal aid work in three years’ time.
101. We recognise the need to concentrate resources on supporting the early stages of criminal cases, but unless a substantial increase is made to prison law fees, there is likely to be a complete collapse in provision. The failure to adequately remunerate prison lawyers may prove to be a false economy, since without access to legal advice prisoners eligible for parole are more likely to end up spending longer in prison. At a time when the prison population is at crisis levels, it is counterproductive to make it more difficult to hold effective and efficient parole hearings.
102. We recommend that prison law fees be increased to take account of the increasing complexity and importance of this work.”
Those of us still standing in this important area of work are not prepared to let it die. The new government claims to be focused on and respectful of social justice and the rule of law. We look forward to this commitment being translated into action now.
Andrew Sperling
Originally posted on LinkedIn:
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