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14.67Although all Crown Court work is included within the scope of the contract, the payment rates and rules are governed by the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 as amended.
14.68The scheme makes a distinction between fixed fees and graduated fees. There are fixed fees for cases that involve either way offences when the magistrates’ court accepted jurisdiction but the defendant elected trial on indictment; and for cases that do not involve trial on indictment, such as committal for sentence, breaches and appeals. Graduated fees apply to all other cases heard on indictment.
14.69Graduated fees are determined by a number of factors:
•the classification of the offence – offences are classified into 11 classes (A–K);
•the category (outcome) – whether a guilty plea (plea entered before or at the first hearing at which the defendant enters a plea, a cracked trial (guilty plea or no evidence offered after the first hearing at which the defendant enters a plea) or trial (including Newton hearings) – discontinuances are thus paid at the same rate as guilty pleas;
•the length of the main hearing – the trial or hearing at which pleas were entered;
•the number of pages of prosecution evidence (excluding unused material) served – this can in defined circumstances include pages served electronically;
1Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 as amended Schedules 1 and 2 para 1(2)–1(5). •the number of defendants represented by you.
To calculate the fee, you should first categorise your case by the offence. Where there is more than one charge on the indictment, select the one which would result in the higher fee.
14.70For each outcome type, there is a basic fee which varies depending on the classification of the offence, and to which an uplift is added depending on the number of pages of evidence and the length of the main hearing.
14.71As a result, there are thousands of variables and the tables set out in Schedule 2 to the Remuneration Regulations 2013 and amendments thereto are lengthy and complex. However, the LAA has made available a spreadsheet into which the classification, trial length, page count and outcome can be entered, and which then calculates the appropriate fee – see
www.gov.uk/government/publications/graduated-fee-calculators. The scheme is under review for April 2017.
14.72All work done on a case is covered by the graduated fee; the exceptions are work done in connection with confiscation following conviction, and work classified as ‘special preparation’ (for instance considering more than 10,000 pages of evidence or exhibits) which is payable at hourly rates in addition to the fee.
2As we went to press, the Ministry of Justice was consulting on reducing this limit to 6,000 pages.14.73Claims for litigator fees are be made through the LAA online billing system.
14.74Claims are assessed item by item by the LAA, who will compare the information on your claim with that held by the Court Service.
14.75There is a right to redetermination of an assessment provided for in regulation 28 of the Remuneration Regulations 2013. The request must be made in writing within 21 days of receipt of the assessment. You cannot challenge the fee scheme itself, but can challenge the calculation in any individual case, such as by appealing the classification of the offence or the allowed page count. On redetermination, the fee may be confirmed, reduced or increased.
14.76If you remain dissatisfied with the assessment, you can apply for written reasons within 21 days, and then within 21 days of receipt of the reasons request a hearing before a costs judge.
Payments on account
14.77Where you have been granted prior authority by the LAA and have incurred a disbursement of more than £100 you can apply for a payment on account of the disbursement at any time.
3Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 reg 14.14.78Where a representation order is dated on or after 2 October 2014 a litigator may make a claim for an interim payment of profit costs at one or both of two stages in proceedings.
4See Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2014.14.79The first stage is where a not guilty plea is entered following a pre-trial preparation hearing (unless it was on a defence election), or alternatively, where a retrial is ordered and representation has been transferred to a new litigator. The interim payment at PTPH stage of proceedings is set at 75 per cent of the cracked trial rate plus any uplifts. Where a retrial is ordered and representation transferred to a new litigator, the payment is set at 50 per cent. The determination of the cracked trial rate will depend on the number of pages of prosecution evidence served on the court and the classification of the offence into which the case falls.
14.80The second stage is where a trial has commenced that is expected to last for ten or more days. The trial is presumed to last one day and the claim is for the fee payable at that stage
14.81There is no other provision for payment on account of profit costs unless you can show financial hardship, and even then only if it has been at least six months since the start of the case and it is unlikely that payment will be received for at least three more months. You will have to provide evidence of hardship, usually in the form of a bank statement or letter from your bank.
5Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 reg 21.