Debate contribution: Public Sector: Late Payments

Debate contribution by Ms Joanne Bunting on 10 September 2024.

MLA

Ms Joanne Bunting

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

10 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Public Sector: Late Payments

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4517808

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am grateful to colleagues for tabling the motion. I declare that I have an immediate family member who works in the legal profession. I will bring forward a matter relating to the topic that has been raised with members of the Justice Committee. As part of our induction into all things justice, the Committee heard from directorates in the Department and various stakeholders from the justice family. In the course of those sessions, we heard evidence from the Law Society and the Bar Council, which stated that the Department takes between 12 and 16 weeks to make legal aid payments for work that has been completed.

Evidence from the Department naturally outlined the existing financial pressures. As part of the discussion on the legal aid issue, officials indicated that the time frame was necessary and, indeed, was being used as a budget management tool. In briefings prior to the restoration of the Assembly, justice spokespersons were advised that, at various times, the Department was having to eye a six-month time frame for payments, again as a result of demand and pressures and for the purposes of managing the budget.

The Law Society and the Bar Council were very clear about the impact of such delayed payments. The Law Society cited that it can have massive consequences for cash flow, particularly for small businesses, which most solicitors' firms are. Such delays can literally be the difference between firms remaining open or having to close their doors, resulting in unemployment in local areas and further vacant premises on our high streets. That is not just a city problem: it is widely felt in rural communities. Likewise, the evidence that we received from the Bar Council indicated that delays in payment had resulted in numerous barristers leaving the profession entirely, particularly younger women. The problem is compounded because payment rates for work have not been reviewed for decades. As a result of that area of law being so unprofitable, many firms no longer do legal aid work at all. Hence, very few students wish to enter the area of legal aid law because it is not well paid and the hours are extremely antisocial. Moreover, even when there are willing students, most firms do not have the resources to take on apprentices from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies because they cannot afford to pay them. Unless people have a placement, they are not accepted into the Institute. Thus, the future of legal aid representation in Northern Ireland, in the long term, hangs in the balance. Traditionally, the House has not had much sympathy for the profession or some of the expenditure on legal aid. Some of that criticism is justified but not all of it. We ought not to forget the bigger picture: it is an access to justice issue. Closed doors on legal aid firms mean that it is all the more difficult for the public — our constituents — to access justice. Remember that our constituents are the people who avail themselves of those services, and those who are in receipt of legal aid are entitled to it. Every facet of their lives is inspected before approval is granted because it is means-tested, and even those thresholds have not kept pace with wages, thus excluding many who work but are still on the breadline. Considerable resources are brought to bear to secure prosecutions, but the fundamental tenet of justice is that everybody is entitled to legal representation and a defence where applicable. We are sleepwalking our way into a position where people will no longer be able to access help by way of legal representation. Delayed payments are not the totality of the problem for the legal profession, but they certainly have serious outcomes and can make a bad situation infinitely worse. The issue for the House is that it is not just about the odd legal firm disappearing. From the Department's perspective, the delays are used as a management tool to assist with budgeting, but the result is jeopardy for others. Twelve weeks is inordinate, and, given the delays in the system, the payment is often for work that was undertaken up to a year previous. In no other sector would that be acceptable, but then lawyers are just above politicians on the popularity scale. The consequences are not just for lawyers, they are for our justice system in Northern Ireland and the fundamental principles of access to justice and the right to legal representation. The sector will, doubtless, appreciate the motion, but in the grand scheme, so should we all.

763 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification