The legal aid minister has claimed that family law solicitors will benefit from fee changes that will see barristers' rates cut, in an interview with the Gazette.


The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is consulting on three reform options: a straight reduction in all fees for advocacy under the Family Graduated Fee Scheme (FGFS); a cut in the amounts of payment uplifts; or a reduction to certain preparation payments.



The consultation ends in September and the new fee arrangements will be implemented in 2009. In addition, the Legal Services Commission will consult on proposals to introduce a single solicitor and barrister advocacy scheme to apply from 2010.



At present, they are paid differently and the MoJ claims barristers can pocket between 50-75% more for advocacy than solicitors who are on hourly rates.



Lord Hunt of Kings Heath told the Gazette the amount spent on barrister advocacy had risen dramatically - from £74 million in 2005 to £98 million today. That figure, he said, was 'unsustainable' within the fixed legal aid budget.



He claimed there was no indication that the proposed cuts would stop barristers from taking on work, while predicting there would be many high-quality solicitor-advocates who could do it themselves.



'Looking ahead to 2010 - it's likely that solicitors will benefit from an [overall] increase in fees,' he said.



Richard Miller, legal aid manager at the Law Society, said: 'There are a lot of very competent solicitor-advocates who are perfectly capable of undertaking this work, but there's a major problem with them doing so in care proceedings because they receive no separate payment for advocacy preparation.'



Lucy Theis QC, chairwoman of the Family Law Bar Association, said: 'There is great concern that future cuts in funding will make it unsustainable for family barristers to continue to do publicly funded work and discourage new entrants to this vital area of work.'