The Ministry of Justice has laid the statutory instrument that changes the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, the Crown Court framework for paying advocates under criminal legal aid. The new provisions apply to cases where the representation order is dated on or after 28 July 2026. For chambers, solicitors and fee clerks, the operative date is therefore the representation order rather than the eventual hearing or billing date. Live matters already in the system will need to be distinguished from new cases entering scope after commencement.
Under the amending regulations, the fixed fee for additional preparation will rise from £62 to £81. The same fee will also become available in cases that conclude by guilty plea, extending payment beyond the narrower range of cases currently covered. The instrument also lowers the trial-length threshold for a wasted preparation claim from five days to two. That change brings a larger share of Crown Court work within scope and expands access to the fee across shorter cases.
According to the government notice, these amendments sit within a wider package of AGFS reform. Most of that broader package is still expected to go through public consultation, but ministers have chosen to move these elements ahead of the main exercise. The Ministry of Justice says the earlier timetable reflects the particular importance of these payments to the criminal Bar and follows extended engagement with the sector, including through the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board.
The department’s explanation is that reducing the wasted preparation threshold will allow more cases to qualify and will better recognise preparation work undertaken by advocates. It also says the wider availability of the fee is intended to encourage earlier and more thorough preparation across a broader range of Crown Court cases. The same rationale sits behind the extension to guilty plea matters. The government states that advocates often complete substantial preparatory work before a case concludes by plea, and that the higher £81 rate is intended to better reflect the volume and nature of that work.
On claims handling, the Ministry of Justice directs providers to the Claim for Crown Court Defence billing tool. The additional preparation fee is to be selected through the miscellaneous fees page, chosen from the fee dropdown and then submitted through the standard claim process. That route may not be fully live on 28 July 2026. The department has warned that the CCCD update needed to support the higher fee, and to permit claims in guilty plea cases, may not be available from commencement, with interim instructions to be issued if that happens.
Further detail is set out in The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 and the updated Crown Court Fee Guidance. The AGFS calculator is also due to be updated, although the government has not yet given a timetable for that change. For practitioners, the immediate task is operational: identify matters that fall within the new start date, adjust internal billing checks and brief teams on the new guilty plea entitlement. For court users, the effect is administrative rather than procedural, but the Ministry of Justice frames the measure as part of a wider effort to support more consistent case preparation under criminal legal aid.