￡24m for police station and youth court fees

The government has announced ￡24m in funding for police station and youth court fees, ￡3m more than the previous administration proposed. Responding to the announcement, Alex Walsh Atkins of Tuckers Solicitors commented:

Although criminal defence lawyers are still vastly underpaid for the highly skilled work we do on Youth Court and police station cases – which require skill, tenacity and long hours – often dealing with vulnerable young people and adults with complex issues – we very much welcome the fact that the new government is moving closer to a reasonable rate of remuneration. Legal Aid cuts and frozen legal aid rates over the last 15 years have had a huge impact on the Criminal Justice System and we hope this is the start of proper reform being lead by the new Justice Secretary who clearly recognises the value in what we do.