Legal aid costs �2bn a year

The government is considering bringing back means testing for criminal cases heard in magistrates' courts.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs told BBC News Online the move was to ensure aid was given to those who need it most.

She said the interest of justice test for criminal legal aid meant many defendants facing minor charges already failed to qualify for legal aid.

Under that test, defendants must prove they could suffer severe hardship, such as loss of liberty or livelihood, before they qualify for financial assistance in a court case.

The spokeswoman said the government faced an annual �2bn legal aid bill, and wanted to ensure the money was distributed fairly.

Abolished

Constitutional Affairs Minister David Lammy told BBC Radio 4's World at One people wanted legal aid to be available if they fell on hard times.

But taxpayers also wanted the money to be spent efficiently, with those who could afford to pay legal fees doing so.

Means testing for legal aid for criminal cases was abolished by the current government in England and Wales in 2001.

Legal aid bills for magistrates' court cases are understood to have risen by about a third since then.

Mr Lammy said the idea behind the change had been to recover legal costs from defendants at the end of cases if they were found guilty.

"In practice, I'm not sure that it has worked as well and what I'm saying is that we should look at up-front (payment) and perhaps look at means testing," he added.

Prison problem

Under the new proposals, aid in cases tried by magistrates could be restricted to those with a disposable income of less than �10,000 after essential expenses such as rent or mortgage.

The RAC motoring organisation has criticised the plans, saying the majority of those affected would be drivers facing charges of speeding, drink-driving or other motoring offences.

But the government says minor offences like speeding do not currently qualify for legal aid in any case.

The measure will be included in the forthcoming draft Criminal Defence Bill, which will then go out to consultation before being tabled in Parliament.

Conservative shadow attorney-general Dominic Grieve said he thought middle-class people should pay their own costs.

But he did not think means testing would solve the problem of spiralling legal aid costs.

Mr Grieve argued: "The truth is that the legal aid budget for criminal cases is soaring because of the number of people being imprisoned."

A big rethink of the legal aid process was needed, he added.