Legal Services Policy
March 2009 Civil Legal Assistance in Scotland
Up to a million more people will now be eligible for civil legal aid as eligibility is extended, from 7th April 2009, to those with disposable incomes of up to £25,000. This means that around three quarters of Scottish adults are likely to qualify financially for legal aid. The change has been made possible following a Scottish Government announcement in November 2008, as part of a move to increase access to justice, in the context of a tougher economic climate.
News Release: Civil Legal Assistance 04.09.doc
Details on the Scottish Legal Aid Board website.
March 2009 Future of Legal Services - Conservative Party View
On 26th March, the Law Society Gazette published an interview Catherine Baksi had with Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Justice Secretary.
The interview with the Shadow Justice Secretary included his views on legal aid: Dominic_Grieve_Interview_26.03_.09_.doc
“What I can say is that I am convinced the current system isn’t working and I have serious doubts that it’s going to be possible to make the current system work without pouring a great deal of money into it. So it seems to me that we’ve got to look carefully whether there are alternatives we should be exploring to change the way funding is taking place in civil legal aid.” He said that he would like to see the criminal and civil legal aid fund split, because it’s the pressure on the criminal fund that has been reducing the available monies for the civil fund. Secondly, he said that he thought were are strong arguments for taking a completely fresh look at the way we produce public funding for litigation and court work.
The Conseravtive Party plan to publish a review of legal aid by the end of the year.
March 2009 Lord Bach’s speech to ASA Conference on 20th March 2009
Speech by Lord Bach, the Legal Aid Minister to the Advice Services Alliance’s Annual Conference on 20th March. The speech announced an increase to civil eligibility of 5% from 6th April 2009.
Copy of Speech: Lord_Bach_20.03_.09_.doc
January 2009 Ministry of Justice Corporate Plan 2009-2011
MoJ corporate plan published on 19th January 2009: MoJ_Corporate_Plan_2009_to_2011.pdf
December 2008 Judging Civil Justice - Hamlyn Lectures 2008
Professor Dame Hazel Genn delivered a series of Hamlyn Lectures, ‘Judging Civil Justice’ in 2008.
“As civil trials vanish, replaced by various types of private settlement and arbitration, the nature of civil justice is transforming and with it, the job and expectations of judges. Is civil justice, in fact, withering away? Although an ambition of the Woolf reforms was to raise the profile of civil justice, criminal justice dominates justice system policy, resources, and judicial deployment. The creation of a Ministry of Justice has only served to entrench the historic dominance of criminal over civil in Government’s justice system thinking. Drawing on real world evidence from Britain and other jurisdictions, the 2008 lectures consider what civil justice delivers in practice, in the context of argument about what and whom civil justice is for.”
Comments from two leading commentators are here:
Professor Michael Zander: Judging Civil Justice.doc This includes extracts from Dame Professor Genn’s speech
Joshua Rosenberg: Joshua Rozeberg article 18.12.08.doc
The Hamlyn Trust: Hamlyn Trust
Flyer for purchasing the lecture: Hazel Genn Hamlyn Lectures Flyer.pdf
October 2008 Making Civil Legal Aid Work
A position paper prepared by the LGA Labour Group, Unite, members of the Labour Party and legal community.
Making Civil Legal Aid Work: Making_Civil_Legal_Aid_Work_Nov_08.pdf
October 2008 The long-term future for legal aid: our vision for the future
First speech by Lord Bach, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice since taking up his position as Minister for Legal Aid:
Lord_Bach_10th_October_2008.doc
Lord Bach was speaking at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group Conference on 10th October 2008
September 2008 ‘Marketisation of the Vulnerable’
‘Marketisation of the Vulnerable’ was raised at Labour Party Conference in September 2008
‘Changes in legal aid services, which help people keep ‘a roof over their head’, tackle unemployment and advise on crippling debts are to be raised at the Labour Party conference, by Unite. Unite, the country’s largest trade union, believes that legal assistance is being reduced, as a result of the introduction of fixed fees per case, for groups such as:
- those with literacy difficulties,
- mental health problems,
- disabilities,
- asylum seekers and refugees’
Copy of Press Release: Labour_Party_Conference_08_Legal_Aid.doc
Amendment: Labour_Party_amendment.pdf
Unite Paper July 2008: Unite_on_LSC_funding_July_08_.pdf
August 2008 Investigation and understanding unmet legal need in Magistrates’ and County Courts
Research carried out by Young Legal Aid Lawyers in 2008 and published in August. YLAL
YLAL_Court_Users_Survey_August_08.pdf
The survey found that almost two-thirds of respondents were unrepresented. Unmet legal need in civil cases was especially high, with only 10 per cent of respondents represented. The survey revealed that a large number of court users were not even sure whether they were eligible for legal aid or where they could get it.
An article on the research “YLAL surveys unmet legal need at court” was published in Legal Action Group Bulletin in August 2008.
LAG_YLAL_Court_Users_Survey_08.08_.pdf
July 2008 Number of Contracts to NfP sector reduced
Information provided on 10th July to South Manchester Law Centre in response to a Freedom of Information Act request to the Legal Services Commission. LSC_on_Contracts_10.07_.08__.pdf
