The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/106) amend the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. Made on 5 February 2026, laid on 6 February, and commencing on 3 March 2026, the instrument extends to England and Wales. It applies to services provided following a “relevant determination” under sections 13, 15 or 16 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 made on or after 3 March 2026. The Regulations are signed by Sarah Sackman, Minister of State, on the authority of the Lord Chancellor.
The central change is the introduction of a fixed 65:75:100 ratio between guilty plea, cracked trial and trial basic fees for all offence types under the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS). This standardises outcome differentials and is paired with uplifts to trial basic fees for offence bands E to I, the lowest‑paid categories, alongside increases to certain appeals fees. These measures track the Government’s published consultation response. (gov.uk)
To implement the ratio, Schedule 2 to the 2013 Regulations is reworked. Paragraphs 6 and 7 substitute the basic fee tables for cracked trials, guilty pleas and trials where pages of prosecution evidence (PPE) are at or below the PPE cut‑off. Paragraphs 8 and 9 replace the final fee tables for cracked trials, guilty pleas and trials where PPE exceeds the cut‑off. Providers will need to use the new tables in full when modelling case outcomes and billing.
Schedule 2’s fixed fees table (following paragraph 19) is also replaced. Separately, Schedule 4 is amended to substitute the table for representation on an appeal by way of case stated and to recast the Assigned Counsel provisions. Fees for Assigned Counsel are clarified for representation in the High Court, the family court or a county court in proceedings prescribed as criminal under section 14(h) of LASPO 2012, and limits are set for counsel in the magistrates’ court, youth court and for High Court appeals by way of case stated.
These amendments form the second stage of the solicitor fee uplift programme. The first stage took effect on 22 December 2025 via the Criminal Legal Aid (General and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, harmonising police station fixed fees at £320 and the escape threshold at £650, uplifting magistrates’ court fees by 10%, and increasing specified appeals and prison law fees. (legislation.gov.uk)
The Ministry of Justice’s consultation response signalled that LGFS changes and remaining appeals uplifts would follow in a second statutory instrument once Legal Aid Agency systems were ready. The 2026 instrument is the delivery mechanism for those crime‑higher measures, including the fixed outcome ratio and uplifts for lower‑paid Crown Court offence bands. (consult.justice.gov.uk)
Scope and timing are critical for providers. The instrument only captures matters where the legal aid determination under sections 13, 15 or 16 is made on or after Tuesday 3 March 2026. Ongoing cases with earlier determinations continue under the previous fee structures. Firms should record the determination date on file, refresh any cracked‑trial and guilty‑plea revenue assumptions, and update internal templates to reflect the substituted basic and final fee tables.
The instrument alters the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme and certain Schedule 4 appeals provisions; it does not change the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme. However, the revised limits for Assigned Counsel in magistrates’ and youth courts, and for appeals by way of case stated, should be checked before instruction and incorporated into case budgeting.
The policy aim, set out by the Ministry of Justice, is to stabilise solicitor income by simplifying outcome differentials and raising the lowest‑paid offence bands. Taken with the December 2025 changes, the department estimates around £92 million per year once fully implemented and reports a 24% overall uplift in solicitor funding since the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review. (gov.uk)
Operational guidance from the Legal Aid Agency is expected to follow. Providers should also monitor parliamentary scrutiny: the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee previously drew the December 2025 Regulations to the special attention of the House, underlining the continuing interest in criminal legal aid remuneration reform. (api.parliament.uk)