'Access to justice for everyone': Call for changes to Legal Aid
Nicola Jones-King, a Solicitor in our Family team, discusses a Law Society campaign for a government overhaul of access to Legal Aid.
Despite new investment in some areas of civil Legal Aid, the Society states funding ‘remains well short of where it needs to be,’ particularly when it applies to Family legal cases.
Legal Aid is the ability to access free or limited fee legal services and covers many family cases including domestic abuse, disputes over child arrangements or couples going through separation.
However, many people fail to qualify for Legal Aid because the means test hasn’t been updated since 2009 and the fees themselves have not been increased since 1996 - and were cut by 10% in 2011.
Nicola Jones-King, a Solicitor in our Family team, who is also the Legal Aid representative on the Law Society Council, said: “With cost of living pressures, many low and middle income clients struggle to fund legal advice, leaving them dealing with complex issues without knowing their rights and without someone in their corner when they need it most.
"Legal Aid is intended to give everyone access to justice and advice when it's needed, but the failure of successive governments to review the scope of the scheme and the fee structure mean fewer firms offer it and clients struggle to find representation.
"This important campaign by the Law Society hopes to address that.”
The Law Society is urging new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to turn his attention to the issue in the wake of a recently published Justice Committee report.
This report proposed changes to capital thresholds for Legal Aid eligibility, removing the means test entirely for some civil cases and the setting up of an independent body to regularly review fees, going forwards.
If you are unsure about whether you are eligible for Legal Aid, you can contact our Family team on 01603 625231.