I reckon that the busiest groups of civil servants currently are those monitoring Government sponsored consultation processes. Under the present Government there are literally hundreds of consultations launched every year. The official line is that consultation is about making government more open and policies more effective by listening to and taking on board views of the public and interested groups, and has become an integral part of the policy-making process.

And here comes another, launched by the Ministry of Justice, which department alone has over 80 consultation exercises in progress at the moment. It concerns proposals to reform the way costs from central funds are awarded in the defence of privately funded defendants acquitted in criminal cases in England and Wales. This is in the context that the Government is committed to the principle that state funding in the form of legal aid should be available to individual defendants who cannot afford to pay for their own representation. “But it also believes that those who can afford to pay towards the cost of their defence should do so. For these reasons, means testing was reintroduced in the magistrates’ court in 2006 and we are currently consulting on a pilot of means testing in the crown court.” Changes are not proposed to the current arrangements for private prosecutor, witness, medical expert or interpreter costs, which are also paid from central funds.

What is being proposed is that, in future, any individual who does not apply for legal aid in defending their case would no longer be able to receive back their legal costs from central funds. This would be a reversal of the practice that those found innocent of charges brought by the state are compensated for the costs they have incurred in defending themselves. Under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, if an individual pays for their defence privately they can usually reclaim reasonable costs and expenses from central funds if they are acquitted. An interesting, if debatable, analogy with private education is offered in support. “Just as an individual who chooses to put their child through private education does not reclaim this cost from the education system, nor should public funding recompense those that choose to pay privately for a lawyer when a publicly funded alternative is available.”

According to ‘The Times’, the proposals have prompted outrage. Frances Gibb reports that, amongst others, motoring groups and lawyers have criticised them as a fundamental breach of principle. She quotes Edmund King, president of the AA, as saying that the proposal is “against the common law and against the common man”; and Ian Kelcey, head of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, as condemning the proposal as a “disgrace.”

The consultation will close on 29 January 2009. Full details are available at
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/award-costs-central-funds.pdf

If you want to see the full range and extent of current consultation exercises, navigate your way round
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/PublicConsultations/DG_4003113

The Legal Services Commission (LSC), after lengthy discussions with the Law Society, has agreed a number of changes to its legal aid proposals. The Law Society is holding free events to update civil and criminal legal aid practitioners and:-

• To explain the terms of the settlement secured by the Law Society from the LSC/MoJ.
• To inform legal aid practitioners how these changes affect them and to help them understand the business implications of the new structures.
• To hear from practitioners their view of the future of their legal aid work and to explore how the Society can support them as they prepare for that.
• The way forward on achieving a sustainable future: what the Society is continuing to do to tackle ongoing concerns about the legal aid system.
• Information on help and support available from the Society.

The timing of all the events is 17:30 – 19:30, with registration and refreshments at 17:00. A speaker at every event is Richard Miller, now Legal Aid manager for the Law Society, formerly head of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG). He is accompanied by any combination of Andrew Holroyd, president; Paul Marsh, vice president; Bob Heslett, deputy vice president; and Des Hudson, chief executive, depending on the location.

Some events have already been held, but those still outstanding are:-

Bristol – 29 April – Armada House, Conference Centre, Telephone Avenue, Bristol.

London – 30 April – Law Society Common Room, 113 Chancery Lane, London.

Llandudno – 6 May – North Wales Theatre & Conference Centre, The Promenade, Llandudno.

Nottingham – 7 May – Castle Suite, Rutland Square Hotel, St James Street, Nottingham.

Cambridge – 8 May – Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge.

Wakefield – 12 May – Cedar Court Hotel, Denby Dale Road, Wakefield.

Manchester – 13 May – Park Suite, Ramada Manchester Piccadilly, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester.

Newcastle – 15 May – Conference Room Central Square, 4th Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

To book a place you are advised to e-mail: regionalsupport@lawsociety.org.uk quoting ref: ZZZ/CELS and the location. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.