Open consultation

Criminal legal aid: Proposals for Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme reform

From:: Ministry of Justice
~~Published~~Published:: 15 July 2026
Last updated:: 26 August 2026 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Summary

Proposals and their associated next steps for changes to the criminal legal aid Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme.

This consultation is being held on another website.

This consultation closes at
~~11:59pm~~11:59am on 262 ~~August~~September 2026

Consultation description

We are extending the consultation period by a week in response to a request to do so. For anyone who has not submitted a response but would like to do so, please email responses to Criminal.LegalAidPolicy@justice.gov.uk by 11:59pm on Wednesday 2 September.

This consultation sets out proposals and their associated next steps for changes to the criminal legal aid Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS). This scheme remunerates criminal legal aid advocates for their work carried out in the Crown Court. The consultation is aimed at anyone with an interest in criminal legal aid in England and Wales, particularly in the work carried out by criminal legal aid advocates. This will include, but is not limited to:

members of the criminal defence profession and their representative bodies
defendants
academics
others involved in the criminal justice system

Documents