CPS chief executive officer Rebecca Lawrence confirmed the payment as well as other temporary adjustments to CPS fee schemes this week, in a letter to Criminal Bar Association chair Caroline Goodwin QC.
Payment is ‘likely to occur in early May’, Lawrence said. The £500 will be deductible against the main hearing fee payable at the conclusion of the case. It will be payable to the instructed advocate in any case affected by the pandemic restrictions, which has been previously adjourned for trial and has yet to have a main hearing.
If the advocate returns the brief to another advocate then the full main fee will be paid to the one originally instructed, and reconciliation ‘will take place on a counsel-to-counsel basis’.
Lawrence also confirmed the CPS would pay for work done prior to the conclusion of a case where delays to proceedings are encountered, ‘maintain timely payments’ for any work done during the affected period, and take account of ongoing operational challenges ‘caused by remote working and possible reductions in workforce’.
Goodwin said: ‘This is unprecedented and will go a long way to helping the junior bar in the coming months as we all battle with COVID-19.
‘We are extremely appreciative of the time that has gone in to ensure that faster payments can be made and we recognise that this is an incredibly supportive and much need gesture to ensure the longevity of the bar at this time.’
