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  • Legal Aid Review 2010

Legal Aid Review 2010

Or not the legal aid review

The 'fundamental legal aid review proposed by the new government is in fact, Ministers tell us, a 'policy assessment'. Please don't use the 'R' word! It is to be a desk exercise during the summer, involving a look at recent research findings and evidence and resulting in a consultation paper in 'early autumn'. Not surprisingly, the primary aim will be to identify how to reconcile legal aid with the need for the Ministry of Justice to make 25 per cent savings. It will look at such fundamental issues as eligibility, scope, market reform, reducing bureaucracy, how legal aid systems work in other jurisdictions and other course of funding.

The legal aid Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, has met with smaller and larger legal aid providers, representative and umbrella bodies including AdviceUK. The Ministry is not seeking formal input until the consultation period starts in the autumn (probably late September onwards), but we will be looking for further opportunities to make constructive suggestions. If you have ideas or questions, please contact phil.jew@adviceuk.org.uk (020 7469 5700).

Mr Djanogly is also minister for courts and will be looking carefully at how the courts system works with legal aid – primarily on the criminal side. We have suggested that he looks at how other parts of the 'system' in which advice operates (like DWP, HMRC etc) add to cost and waste. He's also interested in the role that new technology can play – citing a virtual courts experiment as a potential way forward. The issue of larger contracts – possibly with sub-contracting between large and small providers – will be examined. A levy on the finance industry to pay for debt advice has been proposed. Legal expenses insurance and other sources of funding are also bound to be explored further.