News

When Operation Early Dawn was instigated at short notice many Criminal Defence Solicitors were concerned that if a client, charged at the police station and refused bail, could not be brought before the next sitting of the Magistrates Court then continued detention...

URGENT CLSA RELEASE -14/05/2024 We have been informed this evening that the Lord Chancellor is triggering an emergency measure, Operation Early Dawn, to deal with the worsening problem of the prison population.  Details are somewhat lacking but it appears to be an...

Miscellaneous amendments coming into effect On 1 April 2024, changes made to a number of sentencing guidelines in response to the Council’s 2023 Miscellaneous amendments consultation will come into effect. The amendments, which apply to both magistrates’ court and...

Following feedback from defence practitioners, HMCTS has improved the digitised Preparation for Effective Trial (PET) and Better Case Management (BCM) forms on Common Platform. They’re making changes in 2 releases. The first set of improvements went live Monday 18...

The Sentencing Council has published details of amendments it will be making to a number of sentencing guidelines following consultation. The changes apply to guidelines in both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court and will come into force on 1 April 2024. The...

The Sentencing Council is consulting on six new and revised sentencing guidelines for motoring offences in England and Wales. The draft guidelines cover offences committed by people driving vehicles without the owner’s consent, vehicle registration fraud and driver...

Click here to read the document To be paid in full for your work under the Standard Crime Contract, the Legal Aid Agency requires that you follow contractual requirements and the Remuneration Regulations in relation to the accuracy of costs claimed. The purpose of...

The Criminal Law Solicitors‘ Association and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association welcome the High Court’s landmark judgment on Legal Aid funding and urge the Government to implement the full financial recommendation in the Bellamy review without delay...

The government have today published a consultation on Lower Crime Legal Aid Rates below. https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/crime-lower-consultation/ We will be considering the content and replying in detail in due course. We cautiously welcome...

Dear legal community The Ministry of Justice has launched a Call for Evidence on Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) on 8 January 2024. Local Criminal Justice System (CJS) partners are crucial to driving improvements across the system, and this Call for Evidence...