Shake-up of legal aid will cost us all dear, says Labour peer

[Alison J Stevens]

Shake-up of legal aid will cost us all dear, says Labour peer

Monday, April 16, 2012

Leicester Mercury

A former city councillor, now a member of the House of Lords, says a Government plan to limit free legal advice would ruin people's lives.

Barrister Lord Bach is the Labour peer leading the fight against a Government move to limit the amount of taxpayers' cash spent on legal aid.

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Many people on a low income who have problems with issues such as welfare benefits, employment, housing, family disputes and clinical negligence cases can get legal aid to help to pay for legal advice.

If a new Bill becomes law, legal aid will end for most of those types of cases, saving, the Government says, £350 million a year.

But Lord Bach, who lives near Lutterworth, said the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was "immoral".

He said it would end up ruining people's lives and costing taxpayers even more.

"The most critical thing is that this won't save taxpayers' money," he said. "If these people go without legal aid there's more chance their lives are going to fall apart and more chance taxpayers' money is needed when they're unemployed, homeless or their family breaks up.

"This is one of those British systems that works very well as it is, with lawyers, paid by legal aid, working at Citizens' Advice Bureaux (CABs) and law centres, and helping people for relatively low salaries.

"It shouldn't be changed.

"It's the wrong thing to do at a time of austerity. It's immoral because it picks on the poorest people and it's unconstitutional because it removes the access to justice for all these people."

To counter the effect of withdrawing legal aid the Coalition is offering advice centres extra grants.

But Lord Bach says it is too little.

"It's £20 million for the whole of the UK and that's a quarter of what is received at the moment," he said. "It won't be enough to keep the system going."

Government Bills go back and forth between the Commons and Lords, with amendments being made during debating sessions until agreement is reached on their wording.

Labour peers in the House of Lords, led by Lord Bach, have voted successfully against the Government's version of the Bill on 11 occasions already, meaning they have persuaded the majority of lords to vote for their amendments.

Those amendments have included a call to scrap the section of the Bill that would prevent people facing issues relating to their welfare, such as housing and debt problems, getting legal aid. How-ever, the Commons can overrule the Lords, so the Bill can still become law with or without the Lords' amendments.

Lord Bach said that if the Bill did become law, anyone trying to pay for their own legal advice would face a bill of hundreds of pounds.

"The cost to the taxpayer is about £150 per case from legal aid money," said Lord Bach.

"But for an ordinary person going to a lawyer for the same advice, it would likely cost twice as much."

He said the legal aid payments to CABs and other advice centres also helped keep them going.

"Some CABs get half of their income from legal aid and without it they'll be finished," he said.

The Bill has just been changed by the Lords and will be debated in the Commons again tomorrow.

However, it is expected the Lords' new amendments will be rejected in the Commons.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Shake-legal-aid-cost-dear-say...

MY THOUGHTS

“Yes the Governments legal aid reforms have put much pressure on the voluntary Organizations, especially those who are involved in the Family Justice System.
Legal aid for Private Law family proceedings have been abolished leaving many individuals financially ruined, and unable to fight for any form of justice, the criteria covers contact issues regarding children after divorce, Grandparents that want to take on the kincare care or Special Guardianship after Parents may of been deemed unfit by Social Services and the family court arena to care for the children.
Many Fathers sometimes have to give up the fight to get any form of contact, after they have got through many thousands of pounds, in attempts to see their beloved children.
The actual law surrounding these cases is very complex, and an accurate understanding and knowledge is a must if the person wants or decides to litigate in person, leaving the long drawn out procedures to complex for many people to even contemplate going down that avenue.
Experienced Mackenzie friends and lay advisers are few and far between.”