MPs warn of “serious problems” in legal aid
A new report from the Constitutional Affairs Committee has warned that there are “serious problems” in the current legal aid system and there is “a significant danger that the system will not survive if urgent efforts are not made to enable solicitors’ firms to recruit young entrants into legal aid work.”
In 2004 the Citizens’ Advice Bureau said “advice deserts” were opening up across the country and legal infrastructure was become fragmented.
The MPs warn that Government attempts to ensure that costs are probably audited “has resulted in a wasteful and self-defeating system of cost compliance auditing which bears little relation to quality or even shows much accuracy in the assessment of costs.”
The report notes there is “widespread evidence of serious recruitment and retention problems” and though it acknowledges efforts to give students financial support, the report notes that the mounting levels of student debt are a severe disincentive for students to enter legal aid.
The MPs also note that if legal aid is connected with low fees then this will have a detrimental effect on the quality of lawyers entering the field.
In relation to civil law, the MPs believe there is evidence of a significant unmet needed, noting that: “Too much has been squeezed out of the CLS (Community Legal Services) budget as a result of the twin pressures of criminal and asylum work.”
“Whatever action the Government may take to reduce the financial impact of asylum cases on the legal aid system, it is likely that the growth in criminal legal aid will continue to be a burden.
“There may be scope for bearing down on the cost of criminal legal aid by better case management and a new criminal procedure code. The Government should ring fence the civil and criminal legal aid budgets so that the funding for civil work is protected (as immigration work is) and considered quite separately from criminal defence funding.”
The Committee advises that at present “the legal aid system is increasingly being restricted to those with no means at all. There is a substantial risk that many people of modest means, but who are homeowners, effectively will fall out of the ambit of legal aid. In many cases this may amount to a serious denial of access to justice.”
In a key recommendation to the Government, the MPs argue that the cost implications of any new policies or legislation should be considered in relation to the legal aid budget.
Commenting on the findings. The Law Society’s chief executive, Janet Paraskeva, said: “The costs of criminal legal aid have risen dramatically because of a raft of new criminal justice policies and laws but the Government has failed to plan properly for the effects of this on the legal aid budget.
“The Government must ensure there is enough money for people to receive advice on civil as well as criminal matters.”
