The Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) have warned that the Government’s proposed legal aid reforms could do “irreparable damage” to the UK justice system and potentially destroy the criminal Bar, in their responses to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) consultation on the controversial plans.
In a 150-page document published today (4 June), the Bar Council argues that the proposals for reform, set out in the ‘Transforming Legal Aid‘ consultation – will “destroy the livelihoods of many smaller solicitors’ firms and rapidly destroy the criminal defence Bar”, with the introduction of price competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal legal aid work described as “fundamentally flawed”.
