Criminal barristers have voted to accept the government’s pay deal on legal aid fees and end their indefinite strike.
The offer by the justice secretary, Brandon Lewis, included a 15% increase in legal aid fees to “the vast majority of cases currently in the crown court”, £3m of funding for case preparation and £4m for prerecorded cross-examinations of vulnerable victims and witnesses.
The Ministry of Justice had previously announced a 15% increase in legal aid fees but only applicable to new cases from the end of September, so not covering the backlog in the crown courts of about 60,000 cases.
The Criminal Bar Association had been demanding an immediate 25% increase, applicable to all cases, but agreed to put the government’s offer to its members. Industrial action began in April and has been gradually escalating until criminal barristers began an indefinite strike on 5 September. Voting opened on Tuesday and closed at midnight on Sunday.
The CBA said on Monday that 57% out of 2,605 who voted were in favour of accepting the government offer. As a result, industrial action will end from 5pm on Monday.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, CBA’s chair, said: “The criminal justice system remains chronically underfunded. The onus is on government to properly fund it. Barristers’ acceptance of this deal is a first step in working with government for long-term reform. If the deal falls short in implementation, the CBA will ballot its members again on taking action.
“It should never have got to the stage of barristers taking action to force more funding into criminal legal aid.
“The CBA looks forward to a new and different approach by government to funding of barristers who deliver justice in the criminal law courts. We see this deal and its acceptance as a start.”
The government said the offer, which also includes a £5m uplift a year for fees in youth courts, represents further investment of £54m in the criminal bar and solicitors.
The decision by barristers in England and Wales to accept the offer will come as a relief to the government amid industrial action across several sectors, including the railways and postal service.
It also removes the looming threat of defendants on remand for serious crimes being released on bail as they reach the end of their custody time limits because their trials have been delayed due to the strike.
High court judges said last month that by the last week in November, when three months would have passed since the CBA announced the indefinite walkout, the absence of legal representation because of the strike was unlikely to be sufficient reason for extending custody time limits beyond the six-month maximum.
Lewis – who met CBA leaders shortly after taking office, in contrast to his predecessor, Dominic Raab, who refused to hold talks with them – welcomed the result of the ballot.
“Since starting this job five weeks ago, my priority has been to end this strike action and reduce delays for victims, and I’m glad that barristers have agreed to return to work,” he said.
“This breakthrough is a result of coming together and restarting what I hope to be a constructive relationship as we work to drive down the backlog and ensure victims see justice done sooner.”
The delayed criminal legal aid review, published in December, recommended an immediate minimum increase in legal aid fees of 15%. The CBA says criminal barristers have seen real earnings fall by 28% since 2006, while inflation is now 9.9%.
Barristers said they were fighting for the future of the criminal justice system, which is failing victims, witnesses and the accused, who face lengthy delays for cases to come to trial because of the backlog in the courts.
The number of criminal barristers is a quarter fewer than five years ago, according to the CBA, which blamed low legal aid fees and the stress of working in an under-resourced, dysfunctional system for driving advocates – particularly juniors – away.
Responding to the ballot result, Chris Daw KC, the author of Justice on Trial, who voted against accepting the offer, tweeted: “We must unite once again to push for a better deal for the most junior criminal barristers. Many will still be in an unsustainable financial position, despite the increase in fees.”
