Changes to legal aid criminal fees schedules review - responses & final decisions [pdf, 1.3 MB]
...function of the Commissioner. However, as Commissioner, I have an obligation to ensure changes are consistent with policy settings and within the fiscal parameters set by the Government. I can confirm criminal fee schedules are lawful. The Court of Appeal judgment found that the wrong person had made decisions about the fees, previously the Deputy-Secretary of the Ministry of Justice rather than the Legal Services Commissioner. In response, the Deputy-Secretary withdrew the fees and t...