LEGAL AID IN MAGISTRATES COURTS

That this House notes with concern that lawyers and others involved in the day-to-day administration of criminal justice fear that proposals by the Lord Chancellor to introduce standard fees for magistrates' courts legal aid cases will lead to a significant reduction in the number of solicitors willing to undertake the work and will make it more difficult for solicitors to prepare cases thoroughly; believes that the administration of justice would be seriously impaired if those consequences came about; and believes that the proposals should not be implemented until the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice has had an opportunity to consider them and report.