Crown Court means testing

On this page:

Introducing means testing in the Crown Court
Early adopter magistrates’ courts
Why introduce means testing in the Crown Court?
Training and support materials
For more information

Introducing means testing in the Crown Court

Since January 2010, people who can afford to, have been asked to pay towards their defence in the Crown Court in five early adopter areas.

From April 2010, the scheme will be rolled out across the rest of England and Wales, the schedule is below:

12 April - South West
26 April - Midlands
10 May - North West
17 May - North East
24 May - Wales
14 June - South East
28 June - London

This page gives a quick overview of the key information and support materials available on this site. It’s for solicitors, court staff and anyone interested in how Crown Court means testing (CCMT) works.

Early adopter magistrates’ courts

The following magistrates’ courts are participating in the early adopter phase:

Preston Crown Court: Blackpool (Fylde Coast); Preston; Lancaster; Blackburn, Darwen and Ribble Valley; Chorley (South West Lancashire); Furness & District; Fleetwood

Norwich Crown Court: Great Yarmouth; Kings Lynn (West Norfolk); Norwich

Blackfriars Crown Court: Highbury Corner

Bradford Crown Court: Bradford; Calderdale & Halifax; Huddersfield; Keighley (Bingley);Skipton

Swansea Crown Court: Swansea; Neath; Llanelli; Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire);Port Talbot; Aberystwyth (Ceredigion); Cardigan

Magistrates’ courts not covered by the regulations

Eight satellite magistrates’ courts within the five early adopter areas are not covered by the CCMT regulations and are not early adopter courts.

These courts will continue with existing arrangements, including Recovery of Defence Cost Orders (RDCOs) until the rest of their HMCS Region is brought into the CCMT scheme during national roll-out from April 2010.

The non early adopter magistrates’ courts are:

Hyndburn, Ormskirk and South Ribble – commit to Preston Crown Court
Cromer (North Norfolk), Swaffham and Thetford – commit to Norwich Crown Court
Dinefwr (Ammanford) and Carmarthen – commit to Swansea Crown Court

Why introduce means testing in the Crown Court?

Means testing underpins the Government's commitment to the principle that those who can afford to pay for their defence should do so. It also ensures the best use of taxpayers' money and that limited resources can be used to help those who need it most.

Those who cannot afford to pay for their defence should receive public funding.

The introduction of the means testing scheme in the Crown Court is part of a Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Courts Service and LSC-backed initiative. A consultation led by the Ministry of Justice on the regulations to introduce the scheme was published last year.

Means testing was introduced in the magistrates' court in October 2006. The Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the first six months of that scheme is available in 'documents' on the right.

Training and support materials

Training in the early adopter courts has now finished. Training notes, Q&A document and copies of the contribution notices and orders clients may receive are available on the training and guidance page.

Other supporting materials on that page include:

Solicitors’ guide: a 32-page overview of the new CCMT scheme for solicitors (available as an interactive pdf or as a hard copy)
Pocket guide for defendants: 9-page guide for defendants focusing on costs. Versions of these documents are available in English and Welsh on our Community Legal Advice website
Easy read guide: for defendants with learning difficulties or language barriers who may need extra help to understand the scheme
Easy read posters and leaflets for use in the courts, including translations in a range of languages
Draft wording for the client care letter

For more information

A joint LSC and Ministry of Justice consultation on means testing in the Crown Court has finished.

The Government’s response to the consultation on Crown Court means testing and central funds reforms was published on Monday 8 June 2009.

Visit the Crown Court means testing consultation pages for:

the response document
impact assessment
and Q&A

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Last updated: 08 March 2010