King’s Speech

Lord Shamash Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shamash (Lab)]

My Lords, I join many in the Chamber in congratulating the three maiden speakers today, particularly the new Minister, who is an inspired appointment in the shape of my noble friend Lord Timpson. I also congratulate my noble friend Lord Mann on his reappointment as the Government’s adviser on anti-Semitism.

The subject of today’s debate, justice—and particularly access to justice—lies very close to my heart. I set up a legal practice over 40 years ago. To that extent, I declare an interest as a partner in a firm of solicitors where approximately 50% of our income is from all types of legal aid. Within that 50%, 20% comes from criminal legal aid. I am well aware of the Government’s fiscal rules and the Chancellor’s limited room for manoeuvre, but I seek to advance the case for an increase in criminal legal aid be treated as one of the more urgent priorities.

As many of your Lordships will be aware, and as we have heard this evening, our criminal justice system is starved of resources and investment and is collapsing, whether it be crumbling courts, overwhelmed prisons or overstretched court staff, justices, judges and lawyers. Criminal defence lawyers attend police stations, at all hours and at short notice, to represent those arrested. They are often undervalued until needed—often very urgently. As a result, they perhaps do not appear to be the most obvious beneficiaries of public funding. They remain, however, an essential part of our criminal justice system, without whom police stations and courts would simply grind to a halt.

Lawyers, committed to their work, have been the glue keeping the system going, but criminal legal aid lawyers are leaving the profession at an unprecedented rate, demoralised by the stress of long hours—often overnight and then going to court the following day—and often very low rates of pay. These stresses have had an adverse impact. There are 26% fewer duty solicitors in the criminal court system than in 2017. The profession is ageing, with more projected to retire and fewer juniors choosing to enter. Poor rates of pay make recruitment of new solicitors in criminal legal aid work almost impossible, especially given the very large student debts that they are forced to qualify with. Firms are competing with far higher salary rates in the City and elsewhere, as well as the Crown Prosecution Service. Many firms are close to collapse. Put simply, representation for those arrested is at risk, and at a time when it is likely that investment in other areas of the criminal justice system will lead to more arrests as the police carry out their duties.

The independent report of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy KC, in 2021, recognised the structural problems and warned of the likely huge strains on and possible collapse of the criminal justice system if something was not done immediately. It recognised the underfunding over many years and recommended a minimum 15% increase in fees to the criminal legal aid system, something that the previous Government failed to implement in full. The Law Society of England and Wales had to judicially review the Government, with the High Court finding that the Government’s decision was irrational in the way that they treated the request for more funds.

The change of government to one that recognises the value of defence lawyers and their role in the criminal justice system is an opportunity to again urgently look at legal aid remuneration; consult stakeholders, including the Law Society and Criminal Law Solicitors Association; implement the Bellamy report recommendations on fee increases; and review the structure of payments for work done.

This must be set in train, as we are now three years further forward from the publishing of that report. Underinvestment in the court estate over the last 12 years has left fewer available courtrooms and judges, leading to huge delays in cases coming to trial. Currently, 67,573 Crown Court cases are waiting to be tried and 373,000 magistrate hearings. Today, I learnt that a colleague’s case had been adjourned for trial in July 2026; that is two years away. This is not an isolated example but indicative of the problem that will undermine further the financial viability of firms, as they wait until the conclusion of a case to be fully paid at what are already low rates of pay. Such delays do not help complainants and witnesses either and are a stain on our justice system. Proper early advice in a police station and though the criminal process is vital to ensure proper representation and the avoidance of miscarriages of justice: justice delayed is justice denied.

The need for investment in rates of pay and some structural change, as recognised by the Bellamy report, is overwhelming and urgent if all parts of the criminal justice system are to operate properly and fairly. I appreciate that the Ministers have a very large in-tray as they try to deal with their unwanted inheritance of funding issues. Perhaps the next time one of them meets the Chancellor, they could invite her to look behind the Treasury sofa to find £l billion or so. Please tell her that I am happy to give her any help she needs in her search.