Press Releases pre-May 2010

Legal aid fees paid to family barristers are to be differently allocated to focus help to the most vulnerable families and children, and to combat rises in the family legal aid bill Legal Aid Minister Lord Bach and Legal Services Commission (LSC) Chief Executive Carolyn Regan announced today.
 
The changes to the Family Graduated Fee Scheme, which governs payments to barristers for family legal aid work will:

• increase basic fees for cases relating to child protection and children in local authority care
• control expenditure on private family law disputes such as child contact and residence/custody disputes between parents, by reducing some of the extra payments that barristers can claim for undertaking these
• reduce expenditure on cases in which divorcing couples have disputes over property, by abolishing some of the extra payments that barristers can claim for dealing with these, and by reducing others

These changes, proposed by the Government in 2008 and fully consulted on since, are expected to generate savings to the taxpayer of £6.5 million per year, while maintaining existing services to the public. 
 
Announcing the changes Lord Bach said:
 
"These changes are part of the Government's drive to ensure that public funds are focused on the most vulnerable. 

"Legal aid for child protection cases must always come first.

"We will be better able to control payment levels for other work, on custody or contact disputes between parents at loggerheads - which over the last five years have been much, much higher than expected."

LSC Chief Executive Carolyn Regan said: 

"The best way to safeguard essential legal aid, like that for vulnerable families and children is to control the extra payments claimable for barristers.  In recent years these have grown unsustainably.
 
"Refocusing legal aid expenditure in this area will reduce overall cost, while maintaining the same level of service for families and children who need help.
 
During this consultation we have appreciated the considerable time and effort our partners have given us to share their views and shape our policy."

In the last five years legal aid payments to family barristers have increased by more than 30% from £74 million to almost £100 million annually, forming over 10% of the entire civil legal aid budget, although in the same period the number of family law cases has increased by just 11%. 
 
Following the implementation of these legal aid changes in June 2009 it is expected that:

• the average payments to barristers for each closed child protection case will fall by less than £100 (3%). In around 3500 child protection cases per year (24% of cases), barristers will receive, on average, an additional £300. This will be achieved by abolishing one of the extra payments claimed by some barristers in the past.
• in 'private law' custody and property disputes payments will fall by between £100-£150 per case, so that a barrister might expect to earn an average of between £1345 and £935 respectively, per case

The changes will complement ongoing Government reforms and improvements to the family justice system including:

• the recent decision to open family court hearings to accredited media, to be piloted shortly.
• increasing funds available for family mediation, including legal aid funds and actively promoting mediation as an alternative preferable to costly and protracted court-based disputes.
• the current consultation on a new harmonised family advocacy payment scheme for both solicitors and barristers, to apply from 2010

Notes to Editors
 
1.  The MoJ and LSC consultation Reforming The Legal Aid Family Barrister Fee Scheme ran from 18th June to 10th September 2008.  

2.  Legal Aid Minister Lord Bach laid a Written Ministerial Statement on the 12th February 2009, outlining the proposed changes.  
 
 Detail of changes to payments
 
Abolition of the "more than two parties" Special Issue Payment which provides a 40% increase to fees when claimed in public law cases. (During the consultation the Government received strong representations from interested parties that this element of the scheme was not working effectively as it did not adequately reflect additional complexity in a case.)
 
In parallel, a re-direction of most of the funding spent on the "more than two parties" Special Issue Payment into increasing by £4.4m p.a. the fees paid to barristers for hearings and conferences in child care or supervision proceedings. (This will mean an increase in fees paid to lawyers in at least 3500 of these cases each year.)
 
In private law disputes concerning child contact or residence, a reduction of the Special Issue Payments claimable by barristers for conduct issues and additional experts from 50% to 30% and 20% respectively.
 
In private law disputes concerning financial settlement on divorce, abolition of  the most expensive Special Issue Payments claimable by barristers for issues concerning conduct, analysis of accounts, assets which are outside the control of the parties, and more than one expert. Also, to reduce the Special Issue Payments claimable for litigants in person or a relevant foreign element from 25% to 20%. 
 
Introduction of restrictions on barristers' claims for Special Preparation Fees, currently running at 800% of the level intended (a suggestion made to us by consultees. In future, barristers will be required to submit to judges a detailed schedule of the hours spent in preparation so that these payments are only made where appropriate. LSC will also revise the claim forms so that the basis of any claim is clear. 

Detail of average case costs under the Family Graduated Fees Scheme
 
The average case costs under FGFS have risen year-on-year, and are projected to go on rising. The table below shows the current average cost of closed cases, and the average cost five years ago. It also shows the case cost impact of the changes to apply from June 2009.

Private law children
year closed average case cost of cases closing in this year
2003-04 £789
2007-08 £1455
average case costs after changes £1345

Ancillary Relief
year closed average case cost of cases closing in this year
2003-04 £630
2007-08 £1099
average case costs after changes £934

Public law children
year closed average case cost of cases closing in this year
2003-04 £2288
2007-08 £3364
average case costs after changes £3271