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Today I am announcing a package of measures to restructure family barrister payments, reduce overall expenditure, and to refocus resources on high-priority clients. Given the significant priority afforded to public law children cases, these reductions will apply primarily to private family law work, such as child contact and residence disputes, and disputes over property. The Government is considering how we can increase the number of private law disputes which are resolved
through mediation, because adversarial proceedings are not always in the interest of the parties. We will make the following changes to the Family Graduated Fee Scheme for barristers:
Abolish the “more than two parties”. Special Issue Payment which provides a 40 per cent. increase to fees when claimed in public law cases. We received strong representations from interested parties that this element of the scheme did not represent a sufficiently ‘special’ issue to merit a fee increase, as there are more than two parties in the large majority of such cases.
Re-direct most of the funding spent on the 2 more than two parties” Special Issue Payment into increasing by £4.4 million p.a. the fees paid to barristers for hearings and conferences in child care or supervision proceedings. This will mean an increase in fees paid to lawyers in at least 3,500 of these cases each year.
In private law disputes concerning child contact or residence, reduce the Special Issue Payments claimable by barristers for conduct issues and additional experts from 50 per cent. to 30 per cent. and 20 per cent. respectively. Both of these payments are currently running at 150 per cent. of the level intended.
In private law disputes concerning financial settlement on divorce, abolish the most expensive Special Issue Payments claimable by barristers for issues concerning conduct, analysis of accounts, assets which are outside the control of the parties, and more than one expert. In addition, we intend to reduce the Special Issue Payments claimable for litigants in person or a relevant foreign element from 25 per cent. to 20 per cent. All of these payments are running at a level higher than that intended.
Introduce tighter procedures for barristers’ claims for Special Preparation Fees, which was a suggestion made to us by interested parties. This is an area where fees are running at 800 per cent. of the level that anyone expected. Barristers will be required to submit to judges a detailed schedule of the hours spent in preparation so that these payments are only made where appropriate. We will also revise the claim forms so that the basis of any claim is clear.
We are not reducing expenditure in the Domestic Violence category.
Annual expenditure on family barristers’ fees is now nearly £26 million per year higher than it was five years ago—an increase which far outstrips any increase in cases. These changes will help us to reduce net expenditure by £6.5 million per year, and to refocus resources on some of the most vulnerable families and children in society”
Departmental Expenditure Limits
The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Jack Straw): Subject to Parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Northern Ireland Court Service (NICS) and The National Archives (TNA) Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased as follows:
Total DEL for MoJ (RfR1, 2 and 3) is increased by £126,542,000 from £9,743,845,200 to £9,870,387,200 and the administration budget has increased by £195,000 from £461,841,000 to £462,036,000.
Total AME for MoJ (RfR1, 2 and 3) is increased by £455,000,000.
Total DEL for NICS is increased by £20,000,000 from £132,569,000 to £152,569,000 and the administration budget has decreased by £(1,000,000) from £(507,000) to £(1,507,000). This is due to an increase in administration income.
Total DEL for the TNA increased by £1,104,000 from £43,420,000 to £44,524,000 and the administration budget remains unchanged.
Within the Total DEL change for MoJ (RfR1, 2 and 3) the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.
| £000 | |||||
| Change | New DEL | ||||
| Voted | Non-voted | Voted | Non-voted | Total | |
| (1) The total of “administration budget” and “near-cash in Resource DEL” figures may well be greater than total Resource DEL due to the definitions overlapping. (2 )Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets. (3) Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting. | |||||
(1) The change in the Resource and Capital DEL for MoJ arises from:
RfR1: To promote the development of a modern, fair, cost-effective and efficient system of justice for all.
Resource Change: Admin (total decrease of (£685,000))
Take up of End-Year Flexibility (EYF):
An increase of £95,000 in Resource DEL in respect of EYF draw down for the Diana Princess of Wales Inquest.
An increase of £546,000 in Resource DEL in relation to the transfer of Corporate Costs from the Home Office.
A decrease in admin budget of £(1,104,000) in relation to a machinery of government change of the Statutory Publications Office to The National Archives (TNA).
A decrease in admin budget of £(222,000) transferred to the Department for Innovation Skills and Universities (DIUS) in relation to Government Skills Funding.
Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £97,957,000)
Take up of End-Year Flexibility (EYF):
An increase of £5,000,000 in Resource DEL in respect of EYF draw down for The Reform and Modernisation Programme (RAMP).
An increase of £35,000,000 in Resource DEL in relation to the Modernisation Fund.
An increase of £15,000,000 in Resource DEL in relation to the Prison Capacity Programme.
An increase in Resource DEL of £22,739,000 in relation to the Young Offender Education Funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
An increase in Resource DEL of £10,000,000 in relation to an increase in Pension Provisions within the National Probation Service Local Area Boards.
An increase in Resource DEL of £4,100,000 in relation to Intensive Fostering from the DCSF.
An increase in Resource DEL of £1,778,000 from the Department of Health (DoH) in relation to the Mental Health Review Tribunal Funding.
An increase in Resource DEL of £1,455,000 from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in relation to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Funding.
An increase in Resource DEL of £1,055,000 in relation to the Parliamentary Counsel Office from the Cabinet Office.
An increase in Resource DEL of £800,000 in relation to Social Workers in Young Offender Institutes from the DCSF.
An increase in Resource DEL of £680,000 in relation to the implementation of the Youth Rehabilitation Order from the DCSF.
An increase in Resource DEL of £220,000 in relation to Child Support Reform Funding from the DWP.
An increase in Resource DEL of £130,000 in relation to the Virtual Courts Pilot Scheme from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Resource Change: Programme (total decrease of (£34,822,000))
A decrease of £(19,960,000) Resource DEL transferred to the DoH in respect of the Escorts and Bed watches.
A decrease of £(9,936,000) Resource DEL transferred to the DoH to cover prisoner health care costs of new prison places as part of the Prison Capacity Programme.
A decrease of £(2,600,000) Resource DEL transferred to the CPS in relation to the Victims Surcharge.
A decrease of £(1,957,000) Resource DEL transferred to the DIUS to cover prisoner education costs of new prison places as part of the Prison Capacity Programme.
A decrease of £(200,000) Resource DEL transferred to the DoH in respect of IDTS Clinical funding.
A decrease of £(169,000) Resource DEL transferred to the CPS in relation to Liverpool Criminal Justice Centre.
Capital Change (total increase of £69,690,000)
Take up of End-Year Flexibility (EYF):
An increase of £131,000,000 in Capital DEL in respect of EYF draw down for 102 Petty France.
An increase of £3,200,000 in Capital DEL in respect of EYF drawn down for CORE Capital Grants.
An increase of £1,500,000 in Capital DEL in relation to the provision of CCTV in Prisoner Communal Areas from the Home Office.
An increase of £990,000 in Capital DEL in relation to the Accelerated Contest Funding from the Home Office.
A decrease of £(67,000,000) in Capital DEL in relation to the Carter Programme funding drawn down in the Winter Supplementary Estimate, but now re-profiled into 2009-10.
AME Changes (total increase of £455,000,000)
An increase of £430,000,000 provision for the National Offender Management Service relating to the impairment of assets.
An increase of £25,000,000 provision for Her Majesty’s Court Service relating to the impairment of assets.
RfR2: Overseeing the effective operation of the devolution settlement in Scotland and representing the interests of Scotland in the UK Government.
Resource Change: Admin (total increase of £880,000)
Take up of End-Year Flexibility (EYF):
An increase of £771,000 in Resource DEL in respect of an EYF draw down relating to the Secretary of State for Scotland.
An increase of £109,000 in Resource DEL in respect of an EYF draw down relating to the Office of the Advocate General.
Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £420,000)
An increase of £420,000 Resource DEL in respect of EYF draw down relating to the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Scotland.
RfR3: To support the Secretary of State in discharging his role of representing Wales in the UK Government, representing the UK Government in Wales and ensuring the smooth running of the devolution settlement in Wales.
Total DEL for Wales has remained unchanged.
There is no change in the Capital DEL for RfR2 and RfR3
(2) The change in the Resource DEL for the Northern Ireland Court Service (NICS) arises from:
Within the Total DEL change for Northern Ireland Court Service, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
| £000 | |||||
| Change | New DEL | ||||
| Voted | Non-voted | Voted | Non-voted | Total | |
| (1) The total of “administration budget” and “near-cash in Resource DEL” figures may well be greater than total Resource DEL due to the definitions overlapping. (2 )Capital DEL includes items treated as resource in Estimates and accounts but which are treated as Capital DEL in budgets. (3) Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since Capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting. | |||||
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