Law Weblog

Legal aid…next round begins

Wednesday 31 August 2005 at 5:25 pm | In News | Post Comment

Details of the review of legal aid were announced today. The review headed by Lord Carter of Coles will aim to achieve maximum value for money and control over spending, while ensuring quality and fairness in the criminal justice system. The review’s success depends on the ongoing engagement, input and support of the legal professions and government departments and agencies involved.

The day the review is announced saw up to 400 barristers on the North East Circuit (Yorkshire) refuse to take on criminal work from October in a row over pay cuts. They say that there are proposals to reduce fees from 5th October for legal aid cases. Barristers claim that in some instances pay, which has remained frozen since 1997, will be cut by up to 50 per cent.

Lord Carter’s page
Leeds Today Evening Post