The Ministry of Justice has laid the statutory instrument making early changes to the Advocates' Graduated Fee Scheme, the framework used to remunerate defence advocates in Crown Court cases. According to the government notice on GOV.UK, the amendments apply only where the representation order is dated on or after 28 July 2026. That drafting point matters in practice. Eligibility turns on the date of the representation order, not the hearing date or the date a claim is submitted, so chambers and provider firms will need to separate pre- and post-28 July matters in their billing processes.
The instrument raises the fixed fee for additional preparation from £62 to £81, a rise of just over 30 per cent. It also makes that fee available in cases ending by guilty plea, bringing preparatory work in those matters within the scheme for the first time. A further amendment reduces the trial-length threshold for a wasted preparation claim from five days to two. The practical effect is that advocates in shorter trials will be able to claim in circumstances where the existing rule would previously have excluded them.
The Ministry of Justice presents these measures as an early part of a wider AGFS reform programme. Under the GOV.UK announcement, most of the remaining proposals will be subject to public consultation, but these items are being implemented ahead of the main package because of their stated importance to the criminal Bar. The department also says the changes build on extensive engagement with the sector, including through the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board. In policy terms, that places the regulations in a narrower category than a full redesign of the fee scheme: they are targeted remuneration changes introduced before the broader consultation process has concluded.
The government's stated rationale is both operational and financial. By lowering the threshold for wasted preparation claims from five trial days to two, the department says more cases will qualify and advocates will be paid for work already undertaken when hearings do not proceed as expected. Extending the additional preparation fee to guilty plea cases addresses a separate gap in the scheme. The Ministry of Justice is effectively recognising that substantial preparation can arise even where a case does not run to trial, and that payment rules should better reflect the work required across different case outcomes.
For claims, the government directs users to the Claim for Crown Court Defence billing tool. The additional preparation fee is to be selected through the miscellaneous fees page, using the fee list entry for additional preparation before the claim is submitted in the normal way. There is, however, a short-term delivery risk. The GOV.UK notice states that the CCCD system may not be updated by 28 July 2026 to process the higher rate and the new guilty plea eligibility. If that happens, the Ministry of Justice says it will issue interim instructions on how claims should be submitted in the meantime.
Further detail sits in The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 and the updated Crown Court Fee Guidance, both published alongside the announcement. The department has also said the AGFS calculator will be updated, although that change will follow separately. For advocates, clerks and legal aid providers, the immediate task is administrative rather than strategic. Files with representation orders dated from 28 July 2026 will need revised claim assumptions, staff will need to recognise that guilty plea matters can now attract the additional preparation fee, and billing teams may need a temporary manual process until the digital claim route is fully aligned with the new rules.