Ministry of Justice
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Lord Hunt consults on new fees for family law barristers
New proposals to narrow the gap between legal aid fees paid to barristers and solicitors for doing similar advocacy work in family cases were announced by Justice Minister Lord Hunt today.
Views on fairer ways to pay barristers through the Family Graduated Fee Scheme (FGFS) bringing it more in line with payment to solicitors for similar work are being sought in a consultation paper published today.
Lord Hunt said:
"Currently barristers are paid more than solicitors for the same work in family law. We want a fairer system where all lawyers are paid the same, regardless of whether the advocate has a background as a solicitor or barrister.
"Increases in costs for family law barristers - from £74m to nearly £100m in the last five years - pose a serious threat to other areas of family legal aid. To help protect current client services, better control is needed.
"Our reforms are about ensuring the long-term sustainability and future of legal aid. We want to get the best value for money from the system so that we can help as many people as possible within the resources available."
There are three options for consideration:
* Reduce all fees paid under the scheme;
* Abolish or reduce some of the uplifts which multiply the fees claimed by barristers to reflect different issues in a case; or
* Abolish or reduce some of the additional payments claimed by barristers for certain types of preparation.
The proposed changes are an interim measure in advance of a consultation later this year on a single family advocacy scheme for both solicitors and barristers to be introduced in 2010.
Notes to Editors
1. The proposals set out above will help to ensure that the legal aid fund continues to live within its budget and will help to ensure that services to clients are not reduced.
2. The FGFS was introduced in 2001 and replaced a scheme that allowed barristers to charge hourly rates.
3. The consultation document, 'Reforming the Legal Aid Family Barrister Fee Scheme', can be found, on http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1207.htm
It was announced to Parliament in a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 June 2008.
ENDS
