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What you need to know

1. Criminal legal aid: a welcome first step

The government took a small but positive the first step in criminal legal aid this week with the announcement of a £24m funding boost for criminal legal aid on Thursday 14 November.

This will bring additional funding for the work of police stations and the youth court for criminal legal aid practitioners.

In a move long called for by the Law Society, the Ministry of Justice will also reimburse travel time for solicitors who work or commute to work in areas with fewer than two legal aid providers, as well as the Isle of Wight.

The funding for the police station is a slight increase on the amount that was proposed in a consultation earlier this year.

Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood described this as a “first step” in stabilizing the sector, which “has been neglected for years”.

The announcement acknowledges that the future of criminal legal aid fees is still being considered as the Ministry of Justice makes spending decisions following its budget increase.

We are delighted to see this step, which our chairman Richard Atkinson described as “extremely encouraging”, particularly the recognition that this is only the first step needed to stabilize the sector.

In the coming weeks, we will be working with the Ministry of Justice and the Chancellor to secure the funding that the criminal justice system needs and to encourage them to set out these plans by the end of the year.

2. The Attorney General pressed the Axiom Ince report

Thursday, November 14, the Attorney General, Sarah Sackman, went to the shipping box to answer oral questions about fraud, victims and regulations.

Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat Shadow Attorney-General) asked about the Legal Services Council’s report into the Axiom Ince fraud case.

He said the Solicitors Regulation Authority dismissed the “damning” report as “just opinion” and asked what law enforcement officers were doing to ensure the SRA was properly regulated so the public could have full confidence in the system legal.

The attorney general said that while it would not be appropriate for her to comment on the specific case, the government would “work to ensure that regulators work effectively with investigators in the public interest”.

She added that the department is committed to raising standards and rebuilding trust in the justice system.

Questions about violence against women and girls were also put to the Attorney-General, Sarah Coombes (Labour) asking how prosecutors work with the police to tackle domestic abuse.

The attorney general said a new joint domestic abuse justice plan between police and prosecutors was launched this week.

She said the plan would see them work more closely together to support victims, provide a faster investigation and justice for all.

Will Stone (Labour) said convictions for domestic abuse had fallen over the past eight years and the time it took to prosecute cases had increased dramatically.

The attorney general responded that “we’re starting to see a rebound in those numbers, but there’s a lot more to do.”

3. Proxies: The Labor Parliament pleads for the continuation of the reform

Tuesday, November 12, Fabian Hamilton (Labour) introduced a 10-minute bill to simplify the lengthy power of attorney process.

He called the current lawsuits “short-sighted” and said the bill focuses on removing incentives for seniors to take advantage of seniors.

He said “there must be new powers for the relevant authorities to hold the Public Guardian Office to account for its handling of potential cases of abuse”.

The project follows changes to the durable power of attorney made in the last parliament, which aimed to digitize the process and reduce delays in certifications.

Hamilton’s bill was listed for a second reading debate on Friday, January 17, 2025.

As with all backbench bills, it remains to be seen whether time will be available for this debate.

It’s coming

We work closely with MPs and peers to influence a number of bills before parliament: