Ongoing consultations
Reform of Legal Aid in England & Wales
Brief summary
Summary of proposals
How can you help?
Consultation - suggested responses
Lobbying & demonstrations
Sign the petition!: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/say-no-to-legal-aid-cuts/sign.html
Update - February 2011
The deadline for submissions to the Legal Aid reform consultation has now passed, but there is still much that can be done to protect access to justice for vulnerable people on low incomes.
The period before a bill is drafted is the key time to influence MP's, who really do notice when they get a handful of letters on the same subject. Now is the time to write to your MP asking them to challenge the proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice. Use the letters below, or write your own, but make sure you do it NOW, before the bill is drafted and presented to Parliament, because at that point it become party-political, and MPs, especially new ones, find it much harder to defy their party-line on an issue.
The reversal of the decision to cut the Financial Inclusion Fund, and the Governments recent repeated public praising of advice centres, means this is a fight we can win. Help us succeed - write to your MP today.
Brief Summary
The Government is proposing to cut civil legal aid, which helps people deal with debt, housing, benefits, immigration, family law and many other issues. This will leave tens of thousands of vulnerable people without access to help and support to access their rights, and will result in destitution, debt and homelessness. You can help us challenge these proposals by sending a letter to your MP asking them to oppose the proposals and by submitting a response to the consultation - a suggested reponse is available below. For more details on the proposals please read the information below:
Summary of proposals
The Coalition Government have announced details of their proposed reform of the Legal Aid system. The Governments information page, containing links to the consultation paper, Equality Impact Assessments and response questionnaire, is here: Ministry of Justice - Legal Aid Reform. Sections of the consultation paper which may be of particular interest to ACFA members include:
Reasoning underlying proposals to remove areas of law from scope: p32 - 36
Areas of law which will remain in scope: p37 - 57
Areas of law which will be removed from scope: p57 - 77
Changes in access routes: p82 - 84
Changes to eligibility rules: p86 - 100
Reductions in fixed fees: p116 - 123
Immediate and obvious concerns include:
Removal of legal aid for Welfare Benefits cases
Removal of legal aid for Family law (except for cases where there is Domestic Violence)
Removal of legal aid for Debt cases (except where a home is at 'immediate risk')
Removal of legal aid for Housing issues (except possession actions where the home is at 'immediate risk', some disrepair and some homelessness)
Removal of legal aid for Education law
Removal of legal aid for Employment cases
There are also concerns regarding the proposals to force all clients seeking legal help to contact the CLS helpline in the first instance, rather than being able to approach local providers of face-to-face services, changes to the eligibility rules for clients and the reduction in fees for providers.
The deadline for responses to this consultation is 14/02/11.
The Advice Network have produced a 'Summary of Proposals' for ACFA members information - you can download this document here:
Legal Aid reform - Summary of Proposals
ACFA members will be meeting again on Thursday 6th January to discuss a response to these changes.
How can you help?
Avon & Bristol Law Centre have drafted two letters for the public to send to MPs raising concerns about the proposals. If you aren't sure who your MP is you can check here by entering your postcode (you can also use that website to send emails directly to your MP, if you do not have time to send the letters below).
If you have had legal advice please send one of these letters:
Bristol MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Charlotte Leslie MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Stephen Williams MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Kerry McCarthy MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Dawn Primarolo MP from a client
North Somerset MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Dr Liam Fox MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to John Penrose MP from a client
South Gloucestershire MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Jack Lopresti MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Chris Skidmore MP from a client
Legal Aid cuts - letter to Steve Webb MP from a client
If you have not had legal advice but still wish to protect Legal Aid please send one of these letters:
Bristol MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Charlotte Leslie MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Stephen Williams MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Kerry McCarthy MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Dawn Primarolo MP
North Somerset MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to John Penrose MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Dr Liam Fox MP
South Gloucestershire MPs:
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Jack Lopresti MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Chris Skidmore MP
Legal Aid cuts - Letter to Steve Webb MP
Consultation responses
One of the best ways of helping to defend legal aid is to submit a formal response to the Ministry of Justice consultation. You can do this by email or post; the Advice Network have produced a Briefing Note with suggested answers for the most important questions, which you can download here:
Legal Aid reform - consultation response briefing sheet
There is also a shorter version of the consultation response (prepared by Avon & Bristol Law Centre), which just needs a signature:
Legal Aid reform - consultation response - short version
Please feel free to copy information from the Briefing Note to support your own responses, and please send the Advice Network copies of any responses you submit.
Lobbying and Demonstrations
There is a lobbying event on 12/01/11 in the Houses of Parliament; this will be an opportunity for agencies to approach individual MPs in order to inform them about the damage these proposals will cause if enacted as planned. A coach is being arranged from Bristol - please contact the Advice Network for more details. More details about the lobbying day are available at the Justice for All website: www.justice-for-all.org.uk
There will also be a lunchtime demonstration in Bristol on Monday 7th February, from 12noon until 2pm, in front of the South-West offices of the Legal Services Commission, 33 - 35 Queens Square, Bristol, BS1 4LU. There will be more information about this in the new year, but put the date in your diary now.