On the 5th January 2017 the Ministry of Justice published a consultation entitled "Reforming the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme" (AGFS). Garden Court’s Crime Team sees this ‘reform’ as a consultation on cuts to AGFS and as another attempt to dismantle the criminal justice system by increment.
In its response to these government proposals, the Garden Court Crime Team highlights the potential impact of these cuts on the most junior practitioners in the profession, and the consequent impact on diversity within the profession and the judiciary.
The Crime Team invites the Ministry of Justice to supply the full anonymised data supporting its assertion that the reforms will be “cost neutral”, to withdraw the consultation and to undertake a further period of informed discussion with our professional bodies.
Garden Court Chambers’ full response to the AGFS Consultation 2017 can be found here.
