The Ministry of Justice is set to expand the fixed recoverable costs regime on 1st October. However, the expansion of the regime has prompted the Bar Council to challenge the Ministry of Justice over the regime who are currently preparing a letter of legal challenge.
What is the expansion of the regime?
The expansion will establish an ‘intermediate track’ which will cover cases above the £25,000 fast-track threshold up to £100,000.
Why are the Bar Council challenging this?
The Bar Council have said that this reform has brought attention on to the Ministry of Justice who need to address other issues within the current regime. The fixed recoverable advocacy fee has not increased since 2007 and does not reflect the increase for inflation in the last 15 years. The Bar Council have stressed that the level of fees recoverable should reflect inflation at that point in time. According to the Bank of England’s Inflation Calculator £1 in 2007 is worth £1.61 in June 2023, a significant increase. However, according to the Bar Council, the Ministry of Justice did not raise any of the issues regarding the new regime for raising fixed advocacy fees in line with inflation in their recent consultation.
What’s next?
Once the Bar Council have submitted their letter of legal challenge it will depend on how the Ministry of Justice respond as to what happens next.
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