Criminal barristers in England and Wales are set to go on strike today over legal aid fees.
The Criminal Bar Association, which represents approximately 2,400 barristers in England and Wales, confirmed that it would go forward with a work-to-rule on Monday after 94 per cent of its members voted to “withdraw their goodwill by no longer accepting return work”.
It means criminal barristers will refuse to pick up last-minute cases passed to them by other barristers.
Such action could deepen the problems the court system already faces, which has an estimated backlog of nearly 60,000 cases.
Jo Sidhu QC, Chair of The Criminal Bar Association, said they were taking action after poor pay led to an “alarming exodus” of barristers from publicly funded work, with “increasing numbers…leaving our ranks to find alternative work that offers a viable career”.
Mr Sidhu added that “immediate and substantial improvement to fees in order to halt the alarming exodus of criminal barristers from publicly funded work” was needed.
The association said there has been an average 28 per cent decrease in real incomes for criminal barristers over the last 20 years. They also reported a 38 per cent drop in just one year of junior criminal barristers in their first two years of practice.
Reports suggest the number of criminal barristers has decreased by a quarter in the last five years, and a Bar Council survey in October 2021 found that 25 per cent of barristers intended to leave the profession.
Further findings from the association revealed that in their first three years, specialist criminal barristers earn a median £12,200 after expenses.
Income after expenses from legal aid fees for all specialist criminal barristers had fallen by 23 per cent in the last financial year to an average of £47,000.
The government proposed a 15 per cent increase to the criminal legal aid budget from October 2022, but the association is demanding a 25 per cent rise in order to “mitigate the decline in real incomes” and to prevent a large number of barristers from leaving the profession.
“Criminal barristers can no longer afford to wait and, with every passing week, increasing numbers are leaving our ranks to find alternative work that offers a viable career,” said Mr Sidhu.
“Without sufficient prosecutors and defenders, thousands of victims and accused will continue to face years of delay and the backlog in cases will grow ever longer. Government must act now or answer to a public that has already grown weary of excuses.”
The legal aid system in England and Wales supports suspects who cannot afford lawyers and ensures they get a fair trial by receiving proper advice and representation throughout the process, from their police interview all the way to trial.
Justice secretary Dominic Raab previously told the House of Commons strike action was “totally unwarranted” and called for the CBA to take on a “more constructive tone”.
