The Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2007

PART 1 Application and Determination of Litigators’ Fees

Application

1.—(1) The provisions of this Schedule apply to the fees of litigators instructed in proceedings in the Crown Court.

(2) In determining such fees, the appropriate officer must, subject to this Schedule—

(a) take into account all the relevant circumstances of the case including the nature, importance, complexity or difficulty of the work and the time involved; and

(b) allow a reasonable amount in respect of all work actually and reasonably done.

(3) This Schedule does not apply to a Very High Cost Case which is the subject of an individual contract for the provision of funded services.

Determination of litigators’ fees

2.—(1) The appropriate officer may allow work done in the following classes by fee earners—

(a) preparation, including taking instructions, interviewing witnesses, ascertaining the prosecution case, advising on plea and mode of trial, preparing and perusing documents, dealing with letters and telephone calls which are not routine, instructing an advocate and expert witnesses, conferences, consultations, views at the scene of the alleged offence and work done in connection with advice on appeal;

(b) attending at court where an advocate is instructed, including conferences with the advocate at court;

(c) travelling and waiting; and

(d) writing routine letters and dealing with routine telephone calls.

(2) The appropriate officer must consider the claim, any further particulars, information or documents submitted by the litigator under article 6 and any other relevant information and must allow—

(a) such work as appears to him to have been reasonably done under the representation order (including any representation or advice which is deemed to be work done under that order) by a fee earner, classifying such work according to the classes specified in sub-paragraph (1) as he considers appropriate; and

(b) such time in each class of work allowed by him (other than writing routine letters and dealing with routine telephone calls) as he considers reasonable.

(3) In any proceedings which are specified in paragraph 7(2), the appropriate officer must proceed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 9.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2), (3) and (5), the appropriate officer must allow fees under this paragraph in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 6.

(5) The appropriate officer must allow fees in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 6 as appropriate to such of the following grades of fee earner as he considers reasonable—

(a) senior solicitor;

(b) solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience; or

(c) trainee or fee earner of equivalent experience.

(6) In relation to hearings specified in sub-paragraph (7), the appropriate officer must only allow work of the class specified in sub-paragraph (1)(b) in any of the following circumstances—

(a) if the assisted person is charged with a class 1 offence or a class 2 offence;

(b) if the proceedings have been instituted or taken over by the Serious Fraud Office, or are before the Crown Court by reason of a notice of transfer given under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987(1) (notices of transfer and designated authorities);

(c) if the assisted person was a child or a young person within the meaning of section 107 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933(2) (interpretation) at the time when the Crown Court acquired jurisdiction in the case (by committal, notice of transfer or otherwise);

(d) if the assisted person was unable to understand the proceedings or give adequate instructions to his advocate because of his inadequate knowledge of English, mental illness or other mental or physical disability;

(e) if the assisted person was likely if convicted to receive a custodial sentence; or

(f) if the case has been certified as requiring attendance for the whole or any part of the hearing in accordance with sub-paragraphs (10) and (11).

(7) The following hearings are specified for the purpose of sub-paragraph (6)—

(a) trials;

(b) hearings of cases listed for pleas of guilty following a plea and case management hearing;

(c) sentencing hearings following committals for sentence; and

(d) the hearing of appeals against conviction or sentence.

(8) The circumstances referred to in sub-paragraph (6)(e) only justify the allowing of attendance on—

(a) a day of a trial on which it was reasonably expected that the assisted person would be sentenced if convicted; and

(b) if different, the day on which the assisted person was in fact sentenced

and where a doubt arises whether attendance should be allowed by reason of that circumstance, the doubt must be resolved in the litigator’s favour.

(9) The circumstances referred to in sub-paragraph (6)(f) only justify the allowing of attendance to the extent specified in the representation order.

(10) A judge of the Crown Court may certify that attendance on an advocate is required for the whole or any part of a hearing and, in deciding whether a case should be so certified, the judge must have regard to the following factors, in addition to any other factors which he considers to be relevant—

(a) on which days (if any) the attendance of a significant number of defence witnesses is likely to be required;

(b) where the hearing is a trial, the amount of documentary evidence likely to be adduced on behalf of the defence;

(c) the likelihood of the assisted person disrupting the proceedings if the advocate were to appear alone;

(d) whether the advocate represents more than one assisted person;

(e) on which days (if any) the advocate is likely to require notes of the proceedings to be taken for the proper conduct of the defence.

(11) An application for a certificate under sub-paragraph (10) may be made, orally or in writing—

(a) at or at any time after the plea and case management hearing; or

(b) where there is no plea and case management hearing, at or at any time after the listing of the first hearing in the case;

(12) This paragraph applies to work in respect of which standard fees are payable under Part 2 only to the extent that that Part specifically so provides.

Prescribed fee rates

3.  Subject to paragraphs 4 and 5, for proceedings in the Crown Court the appropriate officer must allow fees for work under paragraph 2 at the following prescribed rates—

Table 1

Class of work	Grade of fee earner	Rate	Variations
Preparation	Senior solicitor	£53.00 per hour	£55.75 per hour for a fee earner whose office is situated within the London region of the Commission
	Solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience	£45.00 per hour	£47.25 per hour for a fee earner whose office is situated within the London region of the Commission
	Trainee or fee earner of equivalent experience	£29.75 per hour	£34.00 per hour for a fee earner whose office is situated within the London region of the Commission
Attendance at court where more than one representative instructed	Senior solicitor	£42.25 per hour	-
	Solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience	£34.00 per hour	-
	Trainee or fee earner of equivalent experience	£20.50 per hour	-
Travelling and waiting	Senior solicitor	£24.75 per hour	-
	Solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience	£24. 75 per hour	-
	Trainee or fee earner of equivalent experience	£12.50 per hour	-
Writing routine letters and dealing with routine telephone calls		£3.45 per item	£3.60 per item for a fee earner whose office is situated within the London region of the Commission

Attendance at court where an advocate is instructed

4.  In relation to any hearing specified in paragraph 2(7), the fee specified in paragraph 3 for attendance at court where an advocate is instructed is only payable in the circumstances and to the extent provided by paragraph 2(6) to 2(9).

Allowing fees at less than the prescribed rates

5.  In respect of any item of work, the appropriate officer may allow fees at less than the relevant prescribed rate specified in paragraph 3 where it appears to him reasonable to do so having regard to the competence and despatch with which the work was done.

Allowing fees at more than the prescribed rates

6.—(1) Upon a determination the appropriate officer may, subject to the provisions of this paragraph, allow fees at more than the relevant prescribed rate specified in paragraph 3 for preparation, attendance at court where more than one representative is instructed, routine letters written and routine telephone calls, in respect of offences in Class A, B, C, D, G, I, J or K in the Table of Offences in Part 6 of Schedule 1.

(2) The appropriate officer may allow fees at more than the prescribed rate where it appears to him, taking into account all the relevant circumstances of the case, that—

(a) the work was done with exceptional competence, skill or expertise;

(b) the work was done with exceptional despatch; or

(c) the case involved exceptional complexity or other exceptional circumstances.

(3) Paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 applies to litigators in respect of proceedings in the Crown Court as it applies to advocates.

(4) Where the appropriate officer considers that any item or class of work should be allowed at more than the prescribed rate, he must apply to that item or class of work a percentage enhancement in accordance with the following provisions of this paragraph.

(5) In determining the percentage by which fees should be enhanced above the prescribed rate the appropriate officer must have regard to—

(a) the degree of responsibility accepted by the fee earner;

(b) the care, speed and economy with which the case was prepared; and

(c) the novelty, weight and complexity of the case.

(6) The percentage above the relevant prescribed rate by which fees for work may be enhanced must not exceed 100 per cent.

(7) The appropriate officer may have regard to the generality of proceedings to which this Order applies in determining what is exceptional within the meaning of this paragraph.

(1)

1987 c.38 Section 4 was inserted by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37), section 119, Schedule 8 paragraph 65.

(2)

1933 c.12.