The Legal Aid Agency said on 3 July 2026 that a statutory instrument had been laid to amend the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme. The changes apply to Crown Court cases with a representation order dated on or after 28 July 2026, creating a short lead-in period before the new payment rules take effect. (gov.uk) This is a targeted set of AGFS amendments rather than the full reform package. According to the GOV.UK notice, wider changes to the scheme will be subject to public consultation, but these measures are being brought forward first because of their importance to the criminal Bar. (gov.uk)
The most immediate financial change is to the fixed fee for additional preparation, which rises from £62 to £81. Updated Crown Court Fee Guidance issued by the Legal Aid Agency states that, for eligible cases from 28 July 2026, the £81 fee will apply to trials, cracked trials and guilty pleas. (gov.uk) A second change extends the additional preparation payment to guilty plea cases, which were previously outside that rule. A third reduces the threshold for wasted preparation claims from five trial days to two, widening the range of cases in which advocates may be able to recover preparation costs. (gov.uk)
The government’s stated rationale is closer alignment between payment and work done. In the GOV.UK notice, the Legal Aid Agency says the lower wasted preparation threshold should broaden eligibility and encourage earlier, fuller preparation, while the higher and wider additional preparation fee is intended to better reflect the volume and nature of advocacy work. (gov.uk) The same notice says these early amendments follow extensive engagement with the sector, including through the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board. For policy readers, that points to a two-stage process: immediate fee changes now, with wider AGFS reform still to be tested through consultation. (gov.uk)
For advocates, the operational point is straightforward. Payment turns on the representation order date, so chambers and employed practitioners will need to distinguish between cases that fall before 28 July 2026 and those that fall on or after that date when preparing claims. This is an inference from the commencement rule set out by the Legal Aid Agency and the updated guidance. (gov.uk) The extension to guilty pleas is significant because preparation does not disappear when a case resolves without trial. The revised guidance now places guilty plea cases within the fixed-fee rule for additional preparation, reducing the gap between case outcome and billable preparatory work. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The claim route itself is unchanged. The Legal Aid Agency says advocates should claim the additional preparation fee through the Claim for Crown Court Defence billing tool by going to the miscellaneous fees page, selecting 'additional preparation fee' from the dropdown list and then submitting the claim. (gov.uk) There is, however, a short-term systems caveat. The GOV.UK notice warns that the CCCD update needed to process the higher fee, including claims in guilty plea cases, may not be live on 28 July 2026; if that happens, the agency says it will issue interim instructions on how claims should be submitted. (gov.uk)
For the underlying rules, the Legal Aid Agency directs practitioners to The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 and to the updated Crown Court Fee Guidance. The guidance is marked as version 1.23, dated July 2026, and records that the latest revision covers the uplift to the additional preparation payment and its extension to guilty pleas. (gov.uk) In policy terms, the instrument changes a narrow part of AGFS rather than the scheme as a whole. Even so, it alters remuneration, eligibility and billing practice for a defined set of Crown Court advocacy claims from 28 July 2026 onwards. (gov.uk)