Public Funding

Desmond Browne QC sums up the current position and highlights the issues to be addressed in the near future 

The time is now come for my final Chairman’ s Column . In Chancery Lane people stop to ask me whether there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can only reply that with so little light, there still seems an awful lot of tunnel. 

16 October 2009: “One of the signs of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” — Bertrand Russell 

I have become very concerned about swine flu or Influenza H1NI, to use its proper name. First, I dislike the name: it sounds rather “dirty”. I prefer geographical names, such as Spanish Flu, which have a dash of romance to them. Guadalajara Flu would sound much better in my view. However, this is not my real concern. It is the way in which anyone who succumbs to the illness, or indeed nearly any other politically inconvenient medical emergency, is said to be suffering from “underlying health problems”. 

As the new Legal Year begins, Desmond Browne QC stresses the importance of access to justice for all 

Senior civil servant Sir Ian Magee is to lead a review into proposals to separate the Criminal Defence Service (“CDS”) and Community Legal Service (“CLS”), as part of a review to ensure that the £2.1 billion currently spent on legal aid every year is “delivering best value for money”. 

He will explore the available options for separation, including ring fencing both CDS and CLS budgets, look at ways to manage the finances of both funds, and identify appropriate delivery models for both the CDS and CLS and their relationship with the MoJ.
Sir Ian, who is due to report back in January 2010, said: “Naturally, I will be consulting a range of interested parties, including the judiciary, the legal profession and the relevant public bodies who play a part in the delivery of legal aid.” 

MORE than 50 bar association leaders from around the world have approved a communiqué in support of access to justice. The members of the group, which gathered in London on the occasion of the opening of the legal year, have voiced their concerns about cutbacks in funding legal services at the very time when recession has highlighted the need for access to legal advice and representation, especially for the weak and vulnerable. The bar leaders agreed: 

To renew our commitment to the fundamental principle that no one should be unable to enforce or defend a right for want of the resources necessary to obtain legal advice and representation 

To urge governments to provide adequate funding to ensure access to justice for all, regardless of means, social or ethnic background, gender or the nature of their cause. 

To encourage the members of our professions to continue to undertake fairly remunerated publicly-funded work, as well as pro bono work – recognising that the latter can never operate as a substitute for properly funded legal aid by the state. 

 

To commit ourselves, in the public interest, to work together with governments and state agencies to explore ways in which access to justice can be improved for the benefit of all including taxpayers who fund the justice systems we serve.

The publicly funded Bar is facing an “annus horribilis”, with yet more proposed cuts – this time to criminal defence fees, writes Desmond Browne QC 

The new Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), Paul Mendelle QC, has called for the Government to re-think its approach towards the publicly-funded Bar. 

He is taking over as Chairman of the CBA, which represents over 3,600 criminal barristers and is the largest specialist bar association in England and Wales. Commenting on the year ahead, Mr Mendelle said: 

THE Bar Council held its Annual General Meeting on the 13 June 2009 at the offices of the Bar Council. The meeting was preceded by a full Bar Council. 

Desmond Browne QC, the Chairman of the Bar, said: 

“There has never been a more challenging time for the Bar and its members. The economic downturn is having a direct effect on public expenditure which will continue to place the publicly-funded Bar under increasing strain. Added to the economic pressures are potentially
far-reaching regulatory changes which will affect the ways in which barristers practise their profession. Our latest Annual Report describes how the Bar has been addressing these challenges over the past year and what we are doing to promote the specialist advisory and advocacy services of barristers, in the public interest, in an extremely demanding environment. 

DESMOND Browne QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, speaking at the 7th Biennial Minority Lawyers’ Conference, has highlighted the Bar’s ongoing commitment to increasing diversity and access to the profession. 

Approximately 50% of those entering the profession are currently women, with around 21% from BME backgrounds, up from 16% in 2004. This record reflects the work of the Bar Council to increase access to the profession, for example via mentoring schemes which allow schoolchildren an insight into life at the Bar. The Conference followed the first research paper from the Cabinet Office Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, published on the 14th April, which suggested mentoring as a key mechanism for ensuring that able candidates from less well-off backgrounds can aspire to join the professions. 

THE Coroners and Justice Bill has begun its Report Stage in the House of Commons. The Bar Council, and the Criminal Bar Association, have welcomed Government concessions in relation to information sharing and in putting the decision for an inquest to be held without a jury into the hands of judges rather than the Secretary of State. 

Further improvements can be made to this important Bill. These have been set out in a briefing paper sent to Parliamentarians, which draws their attention to those aspects of the Bill which could usefully be amended. The provision of public funding for bereaved families and other interested parties at inquests has not been properly addressed in this Bill. The absence of public funding for those going through the inquest process means that the majority of bereaved families and other interested parties will either have to pay privately for their representation, or rely on the pro bono efforts of the Bar or other legal professions. This situation is in stark contrast with the provisions for organisations such as Government Departments, the Police or the Prison Service, all of whom are often represented by lawyers paid for at taxpayers’ expense. Commenting on the Coroners and Justice Bill, Peter Lodder QC, the Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: