Actions Must Follow Words
When it comes to being the Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk does not have a difficult act to follow.
Most legal commentators agree that Chalk’s predecessor, Dominic Raab, was an almost total failure. His Bill of Rights Bill was a doomed distraction from other issues like the backlog in the courts that built up during Covid.
Another sore point was his relationship with the profession. Things got so bad with the Criminal Bar Association that barristers went on strike. Instead of engaging with their concerns, Raab instead chose to demonise them in the right-wing press. The strike would almost certainly have persisted had the political winds not blown in such a way that allowed Brandon Lewis to step in to the role for a mere six weeks and sort the whole thing out.
The relationship between lawyers and the government has recovered from that particular low-point but is still frosty. Now Chalk has called for a “reset” and wants legal aid work in particular to be seen as an attractive option for professionals entering the industry instead of it being criticised.
Speaking to the Justice Select Committee he said:
“We want to show not just that legal aid barristers are respected and admired and do phenomenal work but that it is possible to make a good and decent living as well.
“This is not just about pay but about conditions as well. I want the condition of our [court] estate to be so as to ensure pride in the profession so people know they are joining a profession and not something that will give [them] pause for thought.”
Given the minister’s background this view should not be surprising.
During his legal career before entering politics, Chalk did a significant amount of criminal legal aid work. He spoke about how even at that time in the early 2000’s there was contempt towards lawyers like him. The impression was that those in the legal aid sector were fat cats mooching off the public purse when that was not the case at all.
It is admirable to hear a Secretary of State for Justice speak in those terms but now Chalk is in a position to actually do something about it.
He told the committee about previous funding rounds for the legal aid sector as well as an offer to increase spending to a sustainable level in the future but the truth is that this will not be enough.
The Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid carried out by Sir Christopher Bellamy KC recommended at least a 15% increase to rates for lawyers but the government has failed to honour that. Now the Law Society is threatening to take the Ministry of Justice to court and has received permission to bring a judicial review of the decision. Chalk is meeting with the Law Society this week which does show a healthy willingness to engage but that discussion must produce positive, tangible results.
The new Secretary of State for Justice has shown that he can talk the talk but now he has to walk the walk.
This week on the podcast we consider the repercussions when an armed police officer shoots and kills someone as part of an operation. Can the criminal law test of self-defence apply or should there be a more objective standard of reasonableness when judging their actions?
Episode link: https://uklawweekly.com/2023-uksc-24/
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Marcus