Fees uplift a 'necessary first step'

Some of the rates for the Attorney General’s civil panel counsel have not been increased since the panels were introduced in 1997. Last April, the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association reported that rates would have doubled had they kept pace with inflation. The rates will now be reviewed every two years.

Bar Council chair, Barbara Mills KC said: ‘We welcome this uplift in fees for counsel but, given that the rates have not been increased in more than 20 years, they have fallen very far behind inflation. We regard this as a necessary first step but further uplifts will be required if the government is to attract barristers to this important work.’