£200 Levy For All Defendants?

Mon, 08 February 2010 Courtesy of: Times Online

Every defendant convicted in a criminal court would have to pay a levy of £200 under plans being put forward by the Conservatives, The Times has learnt.

Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said that a levy or a fixed fee could raise £80 million a year towards the costs of bringing criminals to court.

The Times article says Mr Grieve also also indicated that he would favour scrapping the Legal Services Commission, the quango that runs the legal aid scheme in England and Wales, which costs £125 million to run. “It seems to me that if someone goes through the court process and is convicted, then it is perfectly acceptable to send out the message that the prosecution and defence costs money — and this fixed fee would do that,” he said.

The Conservative plan is one proposal in a package to boost the £2.1 billion legal aid budget.

The levy would have to be set at a reasonable level, so that those on the lowest incomes were not unable to pay, Mr Grieve told The Times. It would apply even to those on benefits, but would not to every case; minor motoring offences or fixed penalties would be exempt. It would only apply where defendants were granted legal aid, which would mean more serious cases that carry a risk of a serious penalty.

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