Call to reverse legal aid cuts
A Guardian editorial argues that cuts to legal aid have caused chaos and must be reversed. It says access to justice is a “fundamental democratic right,” and “the chaos and failure unfolding across the legal system as the result of cuts should concern everyone who cares about justice.” Spending on legal aid has shrunk by more than £1bn in five years and by 2019-20 the MoJ will have seen cuts to its overall budget of 40%. A review of 2012’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (Laspo) is being carried out, but the Guardian argues that ministers have already delayed far too long in the face of clear evidence that cuts in the family courts have been harmful. Meanwhile, the Law Society has begun a judicial review of cuts to the fees paid to solicitors for legal aid work, while a strike by barristers was called off in June only after the government came u p with additional funds. The paper backs Labour’s proposed changes to legal aid, including a loosening of the eligibility criteria to include all cases involving children, and representation for families in inquests where the state is already funding one party.
