The United Kingdom Government has announced £1.5m in annual funding to create up to 100 additional training places for aspiring criminal barristers, in a move aimed at opening up one of the country’s most prestigious professions to talented people from all backgrounds.
The scheme, launched on Tuesday, will provide young people with the practical training required to qualify as criminal barristers while helping strengthen a profession facing a depleted pipeline of junior advocates.
Under the initiative, government funding will support pupillages that would not otherwise be available, giving aspiring barristers an opportunity to gain the practical experience, education, supervision and mentoring needed to enter the Criminal Bar.
Minister for Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman KC MP said her own experience of entering the profession had reinforced the importance of ensuring that opportunities were accessible to talented people regardless of their background.
“I’ll never forget the day I was called to the Bar. It was a privilege to enter a profession that can help individuals in times of crisis and support the delivery of justice in this country. I want those opportunities open to the brightest people from all over the country and every background,” she said in the Tuesday release posted on the UK Home Office website.
Sackman said the investment would help develop the next generation of criminal barristers, who play an important role in delivering justice to victims.
“This major initiative will help train the next generation of criminal barristers who are essential to upholding the rule of law and delivering swifter justice for victims,” she said.
The Government said the scheme would also help address wider pressures in the criminal justice system by increasing the number of junior advocates entering the profession and creating a stronger pipeline of legal talent.
It added that the legal sector contributes more than £42bn to the UK economy annually, with the new investment expected to strengthen the sector’s talent base.
The scheme builds on the Council of the Inns of Court’s existing pupillage match-funding programme and will provide dedicated support for additional pupillages across England and Wales.
The Criminal Bar Association welcomed the move, describing it as an important step towards maintaining a diverse and independent criminal Bar.
“This is a very positive step forward. The criminal justice System needs a vibrant diverse and independent Criminal Bar to strengthen public cohesion,” Riel Karmy-Jones KC, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, and Andrew Thomas KC, Chair elect, said.
They noted that pupil barristers receive training from unpaid volunteers within the profession who provide education, supervision and mentoring.
“This additional funding from the Government will support that work and also the Bar’s initiatives to ensure that we recruit from the widest possible pool of candidates,” they said.
Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC also welcomed the initiative, saying the additional criminal pupillages were needed to strengthen the long-term supply of junior criminal barristers.
“The funding of additional criminal pupillages is a necessary step towards fortifying the long-term pipeline of junior criminal barristers,” Brimelow said.
She added that a stronger workforce would help the criminal justice system support “complainants, witnesses and defendants” by reducing delays linked to a shortage of criminal barristers.
Chambers receiving government funding will be expected to introduce equal-opportunity measures in their recruitment, including targeted outreach and steps to increase representation in the profession.
According to the release, the announcement forms part of the Government’s wider plan to rebuild the criminal justice system, including efforts to tackle the Crown Court backlog and ensure victims see justice delivered more quickly.