Review of civil legal aid announced
Review of civil legal aid announced
But lawyers fear there will be no system left by the time changes are made
The Ministry of Justice has announced an external economic analysis of the civil legal aid market in England and Wales to better understand how people access funding and support.
It will cover all categories of civil legal aid, including family, housing, mental health, education, discrimination and immigration. Civil legal aid delivered by lawyers in private practice as well as by law centres and other charitable organisations.
An external organisation will be appointed to conduct the review and its findings are “due to be published in 2024”. The government will then consider possible reforms.
The justice minister Lord Bellamy KC said:
Identifying how we can make provision work best for everyone will help ensure we are building a more efficient and effective system to deliver sustainable legal aid support well into the future.
The Bar Council, which represents practising barristers in England and Wales, feared there would be no civil legal aid system left by the time ministers implemented any reforms.
Nick Vineall KC, chair of the bar, said
A review of civil legal is essential and long overdue. The cuts to civil legal aid a decade ago have had a profound impact on access to justice and on the lawyers who undertake legally aided work for individuals and families. This adversely affects the most vulnerable in society.
The widespread closure of advice centres and high street solicitors providing early legal advice has created multiple problems in the system: unnecessary and costly court cases, an increase in people struggling to represent themselves and increasingly stressful work for lawyers having to firefight.
Whilst it is important that the review is comprehensive, a lot of the evidence for change already exists. We are concerned that the timetable for the review is too slow, given the year-on-year decline in providers.
The review is not due to report until 2024 so any changes are not likely to take place until 2025 at the earliest. That delay creates a threat in itself.
Our solicitor colleagues who provide the critical first line of advice are increasingly leaving the legal aid market altogether because present levels of remuneration are simply unsustainable.
Unless interim measures are put in place to shore up existing provision, there will be no system left by 2025. Urgent action is needed now to prevent the complete collapse of the system and we urge the government to consider short-term interim measures on fees and scope.