Police station fixed fees

On this page:

About these fees
Questions about VAT
For more information

About these fees

Police station fixed fees come into effect on 14 Jan 08.

These fees will control legal aid costs for representing clients in police stations.

The fees will:

be more sensitive to local conditions
be structured to account for the differences in providing services in rural and urban areas
benefit the majority of firms who undertake police station work.

We have used a scheme-based fees model based on our police station reforms consultation.

Questions about VAT

Confirmation that VAT is included

We confirm that the fees set out in the Annex to the Specification of the General Criminal Contract (Jan 08) are inclusive of any VAT which may be payable in respect of them.

VAT may not be claimed in addition to these fees.

Treatment of VAT when calculating exceptional cases

A police station fixed fee is paid for all cases that fall under the exceptional case limit. This is set at three times the fixed fee for each scheme.

If the total recorded cost of the case exceeds the exceptional limit, the costs incurred above the limit are paid on top of the fixed fee.

As these have been calculated including VAT, it is the value of the case including VAT that determines whether a case is exceptional or not.

We’ve sent a notice to providers to confirm the VAT position for fixed fees. This also explains the position for exceptional cases and gives an illustrated example.

For more information

View the consultation paper and accompanying documents on the CDS>Consultations pages.

Last updated: 14 January 2008