# The Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2001, Paragraph 12: Determination of solicitors' fees


(1) The appropriate officer may allow work done by fee-earners in the following classes:
(a) preparation, including taking instructions, interviewing, witnesses, ascertaining the prosecution case, advising on plea and mode of trial, preparing and perusing documents, dealing with letters and telephone calls which are not routine, preparing for advocacy, instructing an advocate and expert witnesses, conferences, consultations, views and work done in connection with advice on appeal or case stated;
(b) advocacy, including applications for bail and other applications to the court;
(c) attending at court where an advocate is assigned, including conferences with the advocate at court;
(d) travelling and waiting; and
(e) dealing with routine letters written and routine telephone calls.
(2) The appropriate officer shall consider the claim, any further particulars, information or documents submitted by the solicitor under paragraph 11 and any other relevant information and shall allow:
(a) such work as appears to him to have been reasonably done under the representation order (including any representation or advice which is deemed to be work done under that order) by a fee-earner, classifying such work according to the classes specified in sub-paragraph (1) as he considers appropriate; and
(b) such time in each class of work allowed by him (other than routine letters written and routine telephone calls) as he considers reasonable.
(3) Subject to sub-paragraph 4, in any proceedings which are specified in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 2 Part 2, the appropriate officer shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of that Part of that Schedule.
(4) In any proceedings in the Crown Court:
(a) in respect of the classes of work specified in paragraph 6(2) of Schedule 4 (whether or not the proceedings are ones to which that Schedule applies), the appropriate officer shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 15 as if the fee-earner who did the work had been a barrister;
(b) in respect of all other classes of work, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply.
(5) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), (3), (4) and (6), the appropriate officer shall allow fees for work allowed by it under this paragraph in accordance with Schedule 2 Part 1.
(6) In the case of criminal proceedings in the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, the fees allowed in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 2 shall be those appropriate to such of the following grades of fee-earner as the appropriate officer considers reasonable:
(a) senior solicitor;
(b) solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience;
(c) trainee or fee-earner of equivalent experience.
(7) In relation to hearings specified in sub-paragraph (6), work of the class specified in sub-paragraph (1)(c) shall only be allowed in the following circumstances:
(a) if the assisted person is charged with an offence included in Class 1 or Class 2 as determined pursuant to section 75(2) of the Supreme Court Act 1981;
(b) if the proceedings have been instituted or taken over by the Serious Fraud Office, or are before the Crown Court by reason of a notice of transfer given under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987;
(c) if the assisted person was a child or a young person within the meaning of section 107 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 at the time when the Crown Court acquired jurisdiction in the case (by committal, notice of transfer or otherwise);
(d) if the assisted person was unable to understand the proceedings or give adequate instructions to his advocate because of his inadequate knowledge of English, mental illness or other mental or physical disability;
(e) if the assisted person was likely if convicted to receive a custodial sentence; or
(f) if the case has been certified as requiring attendance for the whole or any part of the hearing pursuant to CDS Regulations.
(8) The following hearings in the Crown Court are specified for the purpose of sub-paragraph (7): trials, hearings of cases listed for pleas of guilty following a pleas and direction hearing, sentence hearings following committals for sentence and the hearing of appeals against conviction or sentence.
(9) The circumstances referred to in sub-paragraph (7)(e) shall only justify the allowing of attendance on:
(a) a day of a trial on which it was reasonably expected that the assisted person would be sentenced if convicted; and
(b) if different, the day on which the assisted person was in fact sentenced
and where a doubt arises whether attendance should be allowed by reason of that circumstance, the doubt shall be resolved in the assisted person’s favour.
(10) The circumstances referred to in sub-paragraph (7)(f) shall only justify the allowing of attendance to the extent specified in the representation order.
(11) This paragraph applies to work in respect of which standard fees are payable under Part 2 of Schedule 2, or a graduated or fixed fee is payable under Schedule 4 only to the extent that that Part or that Schedule specifically so provide.
(12) In relation to hearings specified in sub-paragraph (11), work of the class specified in sub-paragraph (1)(c) shall only be allowed in the circumstances mentioned in sub-paragraph (7)(a) to (f).
(13) The following hearings in the Crown Court are specified for the purposes of sub-paragraph (10): trials, hearing of cases listed for pleas of guilty following a pleas and directions hearing, sentencing hearings following committals for sentence and the hearing of appeals against conviction or sentence.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/855/schedule/1/paragraph/12 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-defence-service-funding-order-2001/schedule-1/paragraph-12
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.