Latest duty solicitor numbers demonstrate why the government needs to urgently give solicitors a 15% fee increase, the Law Society said today.

The Legal Aid Agency has published a three-month duty solicitor rota beginning on 1 October – the first time the agency is allocating work under new one-year criminal legal aid contracts.

The Society said the number of duty solicitors has significantly decreased. The October rota has 3,825 solicitors compared to 4,222 on the current rota. There are 964 firms on the new rota, compared to 1,019 on the current one.

It is unclear how many more solicitors and firms will be added to the October rota.

The Legal Aid Agency said 90% of providers offered a new legal aid contract subject to verification checks have completed their pre-contract checks. Applicants are being asked to accept their contract by 4 September if they wish to be added to the October rota.

Organisations that missed the deadline to join the October rota but completed pre-contract checks are being invited to join the January rota.

Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: ‘We will have to wait for the January rota to see the final picture, but it seems clear that the numbers of firms and duty solicitors are not increasing as we would expect after a new tender.

‘This is further evidence that solicitors increasingly see no future in criminal defence work, following the Ministry of Justice’s failure to implement Lord Bellamy QC’s recommended fee increases.’

Several solicitors have been boycotting poorly paid work in response to the government’s controversial £135m criminal legal aid package.

The Ministry of Justice says solicitors will see a 15% fee increase in magistrates' court and police station work. However, Chancery Lane says the government's reforms amount to a 9% increase across the board when taking into account all areas of criminal legal aid.

Barristers, who are demanding a 25% fee uplift, are currently being balloted on whether to step up their action and commence an all-out strike on 5 September.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We are investing an extra £135m a year in criminal legal aid and we fast tracked legislation meaning duty solicitors will start receiving a 15% pay increase from the end of September. We will respond with further proposals in response to Lord Bellamy’s review in the autumn to ensure that the criminal legal aid sector is put on a sound footing for the long term.'