The Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) Regulations 1989 by instituting a new system for the payment of graduated fees for advocacy and preparation work on the occasion of a trial or guilty plea in the Crown Court, with fixed fees for appeals to the Crown Court against conviction or sentence and for committals for sentence. The graduated fees vary with the nature of the offence and a number of indicators designed to reflect the complexity of the case, and apply to both barrister and solicitor advocates.

These Regulations further amend the Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) Regulations 1989 by:

(1) introducing staged payments in long Crown Court cases, consisting of one payment for each block of 100 hours' preparation;

(2) introducing interim payments for attendance at trial by solicitors and for counsel’s refreshers, consisting of one payment for each period of 20 days' attendance at the trial;

(3) allowing an advance payment of £100 to the advocate (£250 to a Queen’s Counsel, £170 to a leading junior) where substantial preparation for the trial has been done five days before the pleas and directions hearing;

(4) introducing hardship payments for legal representatives engaged in a case for six months or more when final payment is not likely to be received within three months and staged, interim and advance payments are not available.