§ Lord Skelmersdaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which rates of fee for work allowed under Rule 6 of the Legal Aid in Criminal Proceedings (Costs) (Amendment) Rules (Northern Ireland) (S.R. 1996 No. 222) are greater than those in the equivalent Rules which apply in (a) Scotland and (b) England and Wales; and what is the reason for the difference.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern)The statutory scheme which regulates the remuneration of solicitors in Scotland under the Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/1491 (S.120), as amended) takes account of the particular circumstances of the criminal justice system and legal practice in Scotland. Consequently it does not correspond directly to the remuneration schemes which apply in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland, both of which are broadly similar in format and in the rates of fee allowable thereunder. Rule 6 of the Legal Aid in Criminal Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 1992 (S.R. 1992 No. 314, as amended) and the 163WA equivalent provision in England and Wales, [regulation 6 of the Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/343), as amended] provide that solicitors' fees may be determined on the basis of either a time-based claim or, in respect of certain specified proceedings, a standard fee claim.
The system, and rates, for time-based fees prescribed in Rule 6 and Part I of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Rules correspond to those prescribed in the equivalent provision in England and Wales, (Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1989 Regulations).
Similarly the rates prescribed in Part II of Schedule 1 to the NI Rules equate in the main to the corresponding rates in England and Wales. However, the Northern Ireland system differs from that prescribed in Part II of Schedule Ito the 1989 Rules in that a lesser number of the prescribed fees are dealt with on a flat fee basis. Fee rates prescribed in Northern Ireland in respect of advocacy, attendance at court where counsel assigned and travelling and waiting, in connection with Crown Court proceedings are cast in terms of hourly rates and differential rates related to the particular grade of fee-earner involved. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this may result in higher or lower remuneration than the flat-rate system in England and Wales.
The different approach taken in Northern Ireland was introduced as part of a new system for the remuneration of solicitors and counsel which became effective on 1 January 1993. Prior to the introduction of the new system. I considered, following extensive consultations with interested parties, that this more case-specific system was merited in order to take account of the different circumstances and structures of legal practice in Northern Ireland.