Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to increase the rate of legal aid fees paid to barristers, and (2) to reduce the backlog of cases in the magistrates' and Crown courts.

Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law and the Government greatly values the work they do.

In August we announced that we would be taking forward the policy proposals that practitioners told us mattered most for the Criminal Legal Aid Review (CLAR) accelerated areas. These areas were:?unused material, cracked trials, paper-heavy cases, sending cases to the Crown Court, and?pre-charge engagement. These policies allowed us to inject up to £51 million into criminal legal aid to further strengthen the market.

We also announced that the next phase of the review would include an independently led review of the market, to ensure it can meet demand now and into the future, provide an effective and efficient service that ensures value for money for the taxpayer.

With respect to the courts, as one of the first among other comparable jurisdictions globally to resume jury trials, our Crown Courts currently list thousands of cases each week. Since late July 2020, magistrates’ courts have been completing more cases than have been received. We expect the trend of reducing the outstanding work to continue.

We are also installing plexiglass screens into over 300 courtrooms and jury deliberation rooms enabling us to open safely 250 Crown Court rooms for jury trials by the end of October. We’re also investing record amounts - the biggest single investment in court estate maintenance for more than 20 years – and unlocking vital capacity by opening Nightingale Courts to provide extra court rooms.