The national CBA Committee met on Tuesday 20 September. You can read my Chairman’s Report here

I need to update you as to a very serious development relating to QASA, which came about since I drafted my Report. On Monday morning I attended the Legal Services Commission at their request, for a meeting to discuss ‘QASA and AGFS’. I did not go alone, but was accompanied by our Secretary Nathaniel Rudolf, Nichola Higgins Chair of the YBC and Alexandra Healey QC for the Remuneration Committee of the Bar Council.   The LSC told us, for the first time, that they intend to consult over proposed amendments to the Criminal Defence Service Funding Order, which contains tables relating to AGFS payments to counsel by category eg QC, Leading Junior, Led Junior, Junior. The LSC intend to replace these categories with the QASA levels 2, 3 and 4 (being the three levels intended for Crown Court advocates). The LSC say this is intended to be on a ‘cost neutral basis’. However, when challenged, they confirmed that they would interpret QASA to mean that there would be no payment category for silks, and no circumstances in which judges could certify cases as requiring silk. They think that judges will certify simply ‘QASA level 4’ etc.

It will not escape your attention that this proposal, if allowed, would be the end of silk payments for any and all publicly-funded defence cases in future. Far from being ‘cost neutral’, the result would be to reduce the £27 million the LSC claim they paid to defence silks last year down to zero. And yes, they did add that they would not be increasing leading junior rates to silk rates on the basis that QASA Level 4 as proposed would include silks and senior juniors.

It will not escape your attention either, I am sure, that this proposal would replace current AGFS payments by offence category, and all juniors would be paid according to their QASA level. Every one of us will be affected.

QASA was never intended to replace silks. QASA was never intended to impact upon remuneration. We have never been told that the LSC intends to use the scheme to tie remuneration to QASA levels in this way. For the avoidance of doubt, it is clear to me that the BSB were not told either.

This development threatens the entire QASA scheme. We cannot move forward until this issue is resolved. Together with Bar Council leadership, I am meeting the senior judiciary to inform them of this problem, confident that they were not told either.

There will be more to report. I shall keep you informed.

Max Hill QC

Chairman, Criminal Bar Association