Lord Keen of Elie
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(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
My Lords, the two factors to which the noble Lord referred are real factors—Covid and the action by barristers. However, there is an underlying problem of increasing cases coming to Crown Court, which overlays the other problems to which the noble Lord referred. The Government have increased the number of allocated sitting days to 108,500, the highest level in almost a decade, and increased the sentencing powers of magistrates’ courts from six months to 12 months. Nevertheless, with those two increases, there needs to be further radical reform to address the problem to which the noble Lord referred.
Lord Keen of Elie (Con)
My Lords, as the Minister noted, much of the Crown Court backlog can be traced back to the effects of the Covid epidemic. Indeed, I acknowledge that there has been an increase in the number of sitting days for the Crown Court. However, the Lady Chief Justice has indicated that there are a further 4,500 sitting days available. We are in a situation in which many major Crown Court centres are sitting at only half capacity, with many of the courts simply empty. There are courts and judges available, but I am repeatedly advised that there are not suitable defence counsel available, many having been driven out of criminal practice due to the absence of a sustainable fee income. A recent increase in legal aid fees has been granted to solicitors in criminal practice. Is it not time for this Government to address a similar increase for barristers in criminal practice?
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord is right to draw attention to the 12% increase in fees for criminal aid solicitors. That is a substantial amount of money. The Government are exploring options to incentivise the early resolution of cases, which includes the remuneration of everyone in the criminal justice sector. The Government are informed by the 2021 report of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, and considerations are ongoing on this matter.