Monday Message 10.03.25
The workload of the Criminal Bar is relentless. The Criminal Barristers who are a vital part of the Criminal Justice System are often taken for granted, rarely mentioned, rarely praised.
The DPP has taken the trouble to meet with the Criminal Bar Association on a regular basis and to listen to our concerns and to our suggestions as to how things might improve. The DPP has written to all Criminal Barristers across England and Wales who prosecute and defend the most serious criminal offences.
He is the first DPP to write to us during his term of office to thank us for our public service and dedication.
His letter is set out below in full.
The letter from the DPP, Stephen Parkinson.
It is some years now since a DPP was asked to address members of the Criminal Bar Association directly through your Chair’s Monday Message. On that occasion it was one of my predecessors, Alison Saunders, who thanked the Criminal Bar for your professionalism and commitment shortly before leaving office. The timing of my message is different, coming a little over a year since my appointment as DPP. It allows me, however, to share my reflections on what has been a challenging year for all of us, and to outline how I hope we can work together over the next few years.
Court backlogs continue to present a huge challenge for the entire criminal justice system, including particular pressures for you. My highest priorities are to do all I can to reduce delay in the criminal justice system, to improve the experiences of victims, and improve casework quality, alongside a focus on RASSO and DA cases. Much is possible through the efforts of the CPS alone, but to achieve the greatest gains requires a whole system response, drawing on the very best examples of our collaborative efforts in the criminal justice system over the years. During the major public disorder last summer, I was very impressed by the close partnership working and dedication of agencies across the CJS, including the Criminal Bar, which enabled cases to be so swiftly charged and dealt with by the courts.
I am hugely appreciative of the commitment, excellence, resilience, and hard work that those of you who prosecute bring to the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and the wider criminal justice system. We rely heavily on you, and we always will. I would also like to record my deep appreciation for those of you who also defend. In my 20 years as a defence solicitor, I worked alongside a number of you, and that experience has greatly shaped the perspective I bring to my current role.
RASSO
One area where significant progress has been made over the past 12 months has been increasing the number of advocates on our RASSO Panel. Your response to the changes we made to the application process has been significant, with a 43% increase in membership since May last year. We now have 960 members of the Panel – up from 668 last May. I welcome those who have joined, who are providing much needed resilience and support for those already on the Panel and prosecuting RASSO cases. Already, new members of the Panel have been instructed in over 1,000 cases and conducted nearly 500 RASSO main hearings.
It is also heartening to see the number of barristers being trained to prosecute and defend RASSO cases across all six Circuits. The importance of this work, and the training which underpins it, cannot be overstated. To that end, I am grateful to your Chair, Mary Prior KC, and Kama Melly KC, Chair of the CBA RASSO Committee, who are working closely with our own RASSO specialists and training professionals to develop a single CPS-accredited training brief, which we hope all Circuits will be able to adopt once finalised later this year. This draws on our collective experience to create a training product that provides consistency and better supports those who deliver the training.
The CBA have also been working with us to develop and agree the expected range of work for Level 2 RASSO Panel advocates. This follows changes made last year which allowed experienced level 2 advocates, aiming to progress to level 3, a new opportunity to apply to join the RASSO Panel. The intention has been to introduce capable level 2s to our more straightforward RASSO casework, supporting development and progression, whilst ensuring that we do not compromise on quality.
The wellbeing of RASSO advocates is also hugely important and rightly has been highlighted over recent years, particularly given the sharp increase in our RASSO caseload. We are mindful of this and monitor the allocation of work closely. Notwithstanding the obvious challenges of ensuring cases are covered, our records show that, for the majority of advocates we instruct, we appear to be striking the right balance between RASSO and non-RASSO work. Should that not be the case for you personally, I encourage you to engage with us on the allocation of work through your clerk. For those who may require additional support, our free and confidential 24/7 health and wellbeing helpline, PAM Assist Wellbeing Helpline, remains available to all advocates.
Prosecution Fees
Like all government departments, the CPS is working hard on our submission to the Treasury for Phase 2 of the Spending Review; the outcome of which will set our budgets for 2026-28. We will be putting forward the strongest possible case, which highlights what investment in the CPS would allow us to deliver, including in advocacy.
Ensuring we have enough advocates to prosecute cases – both now and in the future – is essential if we are to reduce delays, better support victims and reduce victim attrition. To support this, it is important that our approach to the remuneration of prosecution advocates remains fit for purpose and that the principle of broad parity between prosecution and defence remuneration is maintained; something we are working with the Ministry of Justice to achieve.
I am grateful to representatives from the Bar Council and CBA who continue to engage with us constructively as we build our bid and explore possible changes to our existing fee arrangements.
Go Prosecute
A strong Criminal Bar is vital for a healthy justice system and, where there are opportunities to do more to support recruitment and retention, I want to explore them. Our Go Prosecute initiative, launched in October 2024, is designed to support newly qualified barristers in laying the foundations of their careers through a period of work with the CPS. I welcome those joining us through the scheme and look forward to it growing further.
Returners
In addition to the above, I am also intending to launch a scheme in May aimed at people who left the profession some while ago but now wish to return. People might leave the Bar and the solicitors’ profession for a variety of reasons, including childcare responsibilities, but then find later that their circumstances change. It can be difficult to return to practice when you have been absent for a considerable period of time. However, the CPS is in a position to provide training, mentoring and support, together with the opportunity to work flexibly, which might encourage people to consider returning to the profession. I want to do all that I can to encourage people to practice criminal law, and this is another example of where the CPS can step up to make a real difference.
The contribution made by those at the external Bar is indispensable, and I value our relationship highly. Thank you to everyone who works with us to keep the wheels of justice turning and provide our vital public service – I am very grateful for your resilience and dedication, and I look forward to continuing to work in partnership.
Yours,
Stephen Parkinson
Director of Public Prosecutions.
In other news:
The Backlog
The Public Accounts Committee holds government officials to account for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending. On the 13th February 2025 the PAC was Ordered by the House of Commons to print their report entitled “Crown Court backlogs.” This was published on the 5th March 2025.
In March 2022 the PAC recommended that significant reductions in the backlog were made. For the following five years it indicated that the Crown Court must sit 110,000 court sitting days each year. This was at a time when the belief was that this was the maximum sitting days. That advice was not followed by the last government nor by this one when it came into power. There was no clear plan. Indeed, the Criminal Justice Board did not meet between 2021-2023. The CBA are not invited to the CJB meetings, even when the CJB does sit.
The report states that the MOJ accepts that justice delayed is justice denied. Yet, rather than implementing the fundamental changes required now the MOJ appeared to be “over-reliant” on the outcome of the Leveson Review. In the meantime, it described the MOJ as “…tinkering at the edges, reacting to each new issue that affects the courts without planning for long-term solutions.” They considered that the MOJ was resigned to an increasing backlog and the PAC considered that this was exacerbating overcrowding in prisons. It is concerning to read that the MOJ and HMCTS could not explain to the PAC how much of the £644 million pounds a year that it receives had been spent on reducing the backlog and where that spending had been most effective.
Although the Lady Chief Justice offered full sitting days of 113,000 to reduce the backlog, the figure provided for 2024-2025 was 106,000 days. This was increased to 106,500, then 108,000. The figure of 110,000 sitting days happened to coincide with the publication of the PAC report. The MOJ would not provide information to the PAC on how high it forecasts the backlog will be in a year’s time.
The people waiting in the backlog of cases will not be heartened to read the PAC report. The Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, has produced a report which details further consequences of this backlog.
In the year ending June 2024, she notes that 59% of complainants in adult rape cases withdrew from the Criminal Justice System pre-charge. Her report can be read here.
The impact of the backlog
The backlog impacts on all agencies within the Criminal Justice System. Its impact on the Criminal Bar has been significant. We are proud of each and every Criminal Barrister who remains dedicated to undertaking this vital work despite the heavy cost this has to health, to family life, to wellbeing. We know that you are working far more hours than is healthy to ensure that as many cases as possible are being reached.
Judicial Wellbeing
It is not just the Criminal Bar who are struggling with the workload caused by the backlog. The United Nations has declared the 25th July 2025 as the “International Day for Judicial Wellbeing.”
The declaration was put forward by the President of the Court of Appeal in the Republic of Nauru who was inspired by the story of HHJ Kalyani Kaul KC. Seventy countries, including the United Kingdom sponsored the resolution. The USA voted against this. The Judicial Attitudes Survey 2024 which was conducted by Professor Cheryl Thomas KC on the 24th February 2025 makes concerning reading. Two thirds of those who took part in the survey considered that there was a loss of respect for the judiciary by government. Only 10% felt valued by the media and only 9% felt valued by the government. There are 790 judges who will leave the Judiciary in the next five years and a further 327 who may do so.
The CBA National Survey
We are grateful to all at the Criminal Bar who completed the CBA National Survey. Our statistician, Katrin Hohl, has been collating the data and we will begin sharing that data with you next week. We will no longer be at the mercy of suggestions that we have no evidential basis for what we have been saying, or that our arguments are based on “anecdotal” accounts. We know that this ground-breaking work will demonstrate the views of the profession as a whole and will inform all government agencies moving forward. We would urge them to listen and take account of the concerns that you have raised whilst there is a Criminal Bar left to value and to save.
Publication of revised definitive Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline
The Sentencing Council has today published a significantly revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline. This can be found on their website.
The revised guideline comes into effect on 1st April 2025 and its contents will be included in training for magistrates, district judges, Crown Court judges and legal advisers in the coming months to ensure all sentencers are aware of the important principles it contains.
CBA Election – Assistant Secretary
We welcome Matilda Robinson-Murphy of 2 King’s Bench Walk as your new Assistant Secretary of the CBA.
BSB invites initial feedback on strategy development
The BSB are preparing their five-year strategy, a comprehensive plan for the regulation of the barrister profession into the 2030s. This strategy will set out BSB priorities for the years ahead, offering a clear roadmap of how we plan to deliver our regulatory functions in the public interest.
As we shape the strategy, we want to gather insights and evidence from a range of organisations and individuals. We are, therefore, inviting our key stakeholders, including consumers, barristers and other groups, to contribute. The feedback will help us build a strategy that is informed and has impact, supporting a profession that delivers for consumers and for the wider justice system. More details on how you can contribute your views can be found on the BSB website a summary of the full document is also available on the BSB website.
You can respond via this form; the deadline for responses is Wednesday 9th April 2025.
Yours,
Mary Prior KC
Chair, The Criminal Bar Association