Restoring the justice system

Barbara Mills KC, chair of the Bar Council, sets out her priorities for her year in office, from pressing for increased funding for justice to improving wellbeing at the bar

The Bar Council is the representative voice of 18,000 barristers in England and Wales, and I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been elected as chair for 2025. It is a privilege to serve our members.

Our collective priorities this year include advocating for the resources needed to restore the justice system, amplifying the profile of family law, enhancing the wellbeing of the profession and making further strides on equality, diversity and inclusion.

Funding for justice 

The justice system is in a critical condition. There are record court backlogs, overcrowded prisons, legal aid deserts, crumbling buildings, and judge and court staff shortages. Publicly funded lawyers are also in short supply and many face burnout.

Justice is a fundamental public service, but over the last decade it has been starved of resources. We need to see the injection of new money into the system, and we will press for funding as part of the second phase of the spending review due this spring.

Violence against women and girls 

We share the government’s target of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, but this will not be achieved without proper care and attention. We urge the government to provide a clear definition of VAWG, to recognise the role of family justice in fulfilling that commitment and that policies need to extend beyond reactive measures to incorporate prevention and early intervention strategies.

At the very least, every complainant and every alleged perpetrator should have access to legal advice and representation. Additionally, we have suggested a package of measures, including specialised domestic abuse and child abuse support, assessment services and trauma-informed measures in court buildings.

Courts and innovation 

Innovative solutions that have been created for families could inform new thinking in other courts. Take, for example, the Family Drug and Alcohol Court. So far, this has been a success story and perhaps one that the criminal jurisdiction could draw from.

The pilot Pathfinder courts have also been a success. They use a child-centred and problem-solving approach to private law family proceedings to improve the court responses to risk and domestic abuse, and enhance the voice of the child within proceedings. The Bar Council is calling on the government to fund the rollout of Pathfinder courts across England and Wales.

Leveson and Gauke reviews 

Our submission to the Leveson review of the criminal courts carefully considers all the options that can help bear down on the criminal courts backlog but rejects the suggestion of intermediate courts for principled and practical reasons.

“Successive governments have wanted to appear 'tough on crime' and have increased sentences accordingly but this demand has not been matched with investment or coherent planning” 

The Bar Council will continue to advocate for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to the criminal justice system. We want to see increased stability in the system, Crown Courts to be resourced to sit at the maximum capacity and additional fees for lawyers.

Part one of the Gauke report into sentencing was published in February. We are pleased it echoed some of our concerns about the causes and scale of the problem. Successive governments have wanted to appear 'tough on crime' and have increased sentences accordingly but this demand has not been matched with investment or coherent planning.

Prison is not always the right long-term solution for offenders or for society and the sentencing regime needs to aim to deliver a reduction in crime and increase public safety and confidence.

Regulatory matters 

The Bar Council closely monitors and responds to regulatory developments that impact on lawyers. In February, we issued a response to the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) consultation on its draft business plan for 2025-26. As part of our submission, we respectfully but firmly disagreed with LSB’s proposal to increase its budget by 14%.

As the LSB notes, inflation for the coming budget period is forecast at 2.4%, meaning they are proposing a huge real term increase. We have asked the LSB to consider rationalising its plans and reducing its budget.

Improving wellbeing 

Our latest wellbeing report, based on a survey of the profession, showed that 24% of barristers who took part in the survey had low psychological wellbeing. While 49% reported they were managing their workloads well, 31% indicated they weren’t coping. The survey also revealed that women, barristers from an ethnic minority background, and those who are younger and more junior had lower overall wellbeing.

That is why we are launching a new wellbeing project this year. It is focused on finding measures that will offer effective proactive support to our members. As a first step I have established a working group to look at the practicalities of what we could do to help. We need to make a career at the Bar sustainable and make it easier to return after a career break.

I hope that in the future, proactive reflective practice, will be regarded as a non-negotiable pillar of practice in the same way and level as having an accountant or insurance.

Supporting equality, diversity and inclusion 

Another area of focus this year is continuing our important work on equality, diversity and inclusion. We have seen some progress made in recent years, but there is more to be done, for example, around earnings and bullying.

Last year we published a report showing that the number of Black barristers at the Bar is slowly increasing but Black and Asian barristers are still earning less than their White colleagues. The earnings gap between men and women also remains a problem at all levels across the self-employed Bar and in every area of practice.

In addition, the Bar Council last year commissioned an independent review on bullying and harassment that is being conducted by Harriet Harman KC and expected later this year.

There is a lot of work to do and I want to use my time as chair of the Bar Council to improve the working lives of everyone in our profession.