Tweet
BRITAIN HAS LARGEST LEGAL AID BUDGET IN EUROPE, SAYS REPORT
Official study shows British legal aid spending - and the court
system in general - is better staffed and funded than most other
European countries
The Council of Europe report found British judges were among the
highest-paid in Europe, with salaries for Supreme Court judges about
eight times the gross annual salary. Photo: ALAMY
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
10:00AM BST 09 Oct 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11149868/Britain-has-largest-legal-aid-budget-in-Europe-says-report.html
Britain has one of the largest numbers of lawyers and the highest
spending on legal aid in Europe, according to a new report.
The Council of Europe report found British judges were among the
highest-paid in Europe, with salaries for Supreme Court judges about
eight times the gross annual salary.
The annual document, known as the European Commission for the
Efficiency of Justice, also noted that Britain remained one of the
worst performers for attracting women into judicial roles, with only
Azerbaijan and Armenia worse than here.
Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, has been criticised by the legal
profession for his plans to cut legal aid by £215 million by 2018-19.
The dispute led to an unprecedented walk-out by barristers and other
legal staff earlier this year.
Britain has 186,000 lawyers and legal advisors, said the new Council
of Europe report, while Spain has 226,000 and Germany - a far larger
country - has 161,000.
The UK's legal aid budget was £2 billion (EURO 2.6 billion) compared
with France's £290 million (EURO 367 million) and Germany's £272
million (EURO 345 million), it said.
The European average was just £97 million (EURO 123 million), said
the study, while the England and Wales average spend of £26.59 (EURO
33.69) per head was far above the European average of £7.10, or EURO 9.
In per capita terms Britain's spending was only exceeded by Norway,
which allocated £39.90 per head, or EURO 50.59.
On judicial pay, the study said a district judge in England and Wales
earned £100,000, about four times the gross annual average.
Among the most senior judges in the country, Supreme Court justices
had an annual salary of around £197,000 a year, about eight times
the gross annual average, it added.
Around a quarter of professional judges in England and Wales were
female in 2012, with slightly lower proportions in Scotland and
Northern Ireland, compared with a European average of 49 per cent.
Only Armenia (22 per cent) and Azerbaijan (11 per cent) had fewer
professional women judges, a category which excluded magistrates
or equivalents.
Official study shows British legal aid spending - and the court
system in general - is better staffed and funded than most other
European countries
The Council of Europe report found British judges were among the
highest-paid in Europe, with salaries for Supreme Court judges about
eight times the gross annual salary. Photo: ALAMY
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
10:00AM BST 09 Oct 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11149868/Britain-has-largest-legal-aid-budget-in-Europe-says-report.html
Britain has one of the largest numbers of lawyers and the highest
spending on legal aid in Europe, according to a new report.
The Council of Europe report found British judges were among the
highest-paid in Europe, with salaries for Supreme Court judges about
eight times the gross annual salary.
The annual document, known as the European Commission for the
Efficiency of Justice, also noted that Britain remained one of the
worst performers for attracting women into judicial roles, with only
Azerbaijan and Armenia worse than here.
Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, has been criticised by the legal
profession for his plans to cut legal aid by £215 million by 2018-19.
The dispute led to an unprecedented walk-out by barristers and other
legal staff earlier this year.
Britain has 186,000 lawyers and legal advisors, said the new Council
of Europe report, while Spain has 226,000 and Germany - a far larger
country - has 161,000.
The UK's legal aid budget was £2 billion (EURO 2.6 billion) compared
with France's £290 million (EURO 367 million) and Germany's £272
million (EURO 345 million), it said.
The European average was just £97 million (EURO 123 million), said
the study, while the England and Wales average spend of £26.59 (EURO
33.69) per head was far above the European average of £7.10, or EURO 9.
In per capita terms Britain's spending was only exceeded by Norway,
which allocated £39.90 per head, or EURO 50.59.
On judicial pay, the study said a district judge in England and Wales
earned £100,000, about four times the gross annual average.
Among the most senior judges in the country, Supreme Court justices
had an annual salary of around £197,000 a year, about eight times
the gross annual average, it added.
Around a quarter of professional judges in England and Wales were
female in 2012, with slightly lower proportions in Scotland and
Northern Ireland, compared with a European average of 49 per cent.
Only Armenia (22 per cent) and Azerbaijan (11 per cent) had fewer
professional women judges, a category which excluded magistrates
or equivalents.