Legal Aid Agency
January 5
14:10
2017
Payments for Crown Court legal aid work by criminal defence advocates are the subject of a government consultation called Reforming the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme.
The consultation opens for 8 weeks on 5 January 2017 and proposes a new structure for the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS).
Proposed reform
AGFS was last subject to reform in 2007 and is in need of modernisation.
The measures in the governments consultation are designed to reduce reliance on factors such as the number of pages in a case and instead focus on the seriousness and complexity of the work done.
A key aim is to increase certainty and transparency for advocates and put more emphasis on payment for in-court advocacy.