Open letter to Government
Ministry Of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SE1H 9AJ
5 August 2024
Dear Sirs
RE: RESPONSE TO PUBLIC DISORDER
Like the rest of the country the CLSA membership and CLSA committee are horrified and deeply concerned about the widespread public disorder in recent days. We utterly condemn the use of unlawful violence towards, and the targeting of, individuals fulfilling their professional and public duties.
We note that it is being suggested over the weekend that 24-hour courts may be introduced to help with the issue, in a similar way to 2011 during the London riots. We are disappointed that no thought appears to have been given to speaking to us and other solicitor representative groups before suggesting this idea, because without our members it cannot work.
We would also point out that this is not 2011. Since 2011 more than a third of criminal legal aid solicitors have left the profession and a third of firms have closed. Legal Aid rates (even with the CLAIR increase) have fallen by more than 30% in real terms at a time when the cost of living, and the costs of running a business have ballooned. Firms have neither the capacity nor the resources to help staff 24-hour court sessions, even in the short term. They cannot afford to operate in shift patterns which means solicitors to work 24 hours, on top of their 24-hour police station duty, which, in the case of employees, would cause contract and employment law issues as well as seriously impacting on family life and their mental health wellbeing. Our members are an aging profession, many already working every hour under the sun. We cannot take any more.
Our members are not willing or able to prop up a failing system. We will be making it clear to our members that they should think carefully before putting themselves and their firms at further risk by stepping into the breach once more.
We understand that these are unusual times. We are not seeking to be obstructive. But we would point out that if law and order, the Justice System, and those working in it are as essential as must now be plainly obvious to all, then it is time it is treated with the respect that it deserves and not as some poor relative of the other public services. There is no capacity in the system because of the neglect going back decades.
We are more than happy to meet to discuss a way forward, but those discussions must result in urgent action. They must include discussions on the immediate delivery of the rest of the Criminal Legal Aid Recommendations, urgent investment to tackle the impact of inflation, and annual reviews of rates to put Legal Aid on a sustainable footing.
Yours faithfully
Daniel Bonich, Chair, Criminal Law Solicitors Association