The Public Defence Service (PDS) is proposing to take fewer criminal cases to appeal as Government funding restrictions force it to do more with less, the PSA says.

"The proposed reduction in appeal cases - signalled in change proposal released to staff late last week - raises serious questions about access to justice," says Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.

The PDS, which provides lawyers for defendants in criminal trials who have legal aid, is proposing to cut 14 roles (one vacant). The change proposal says this loss of roles would enable a yet to be determined number of lawyers to be hired in the future.

"These proposed changes undermine the very purpose of the PDS, which is to provide high quality legal representation to everybody - not just a privileged few - and to do so through the use of salaried staff, not contracted lawyers.

"The proposed changes would disestablish the PDS standalone Appeals Team, with the loss of four out of five roles within the team, and would see the PDS not taking many appeals they have not previously been involved in. This would lead to a decrease in the number of Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases the PDS accepted each year."

The reduction in appeal cases to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, which are more complex and time consuming than other cases the PDS takes, is part of efforts to try and fund a "significantly higher annual case load" within the existing PDS budget.

"The PDS has developed specialist expertise in criminal appeals, which are a critical way miscarriages of justice are uncovered. This proposal will reduce access to justice for people with limited means," says Fitzsimons, who is a lawyer.

It is understood work being done by the Appeals Team, approximately 25 cases last year, will be outsourced to external lawyers.

"It’s a short-sighted approach forced on the PDS by the Government not adequately funding the justice sector," says Fitzsimons.

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