Spending review: Law Society calls for access to justice to be protected
October 21, 2010
The Law Society has today reiterated its call for access to justice to be protected, following the government spending review that confirmed the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) budget will be cut over four years from £8.9 billion to £7.3 billion – a cut of 6 per cent per year for four years. The MoJ has also announced that it expects to save £350m on legal aid.
Law Society president Linda Lee said details of how these cuts would be achieved are expected to be released in November.
'While the figure of £350m is less than some had feared, losing this amount of money from the system will inevitably prove to be a significant blow to legal service provision and access to justice. A creaking system is going to be less able to deliver the needs of the vulnerable in society.
'It is a basic feature of a democratic society which supports the rule of law that vulnerable people, whether they are children, or have mental health or housing problems, are accused of crimes or have suffered loss, are able to have access to legal advice and representation to secure justice.
'The legal aid budget does not have to be cut by restricting its availability. The best approach is to tackle the need for legal aid such as simplifying the law, addressing poor decision making by public bodies, and by reforming inefficient Court processes - the real causes of the rising expenditure.
'The legal aid budget has remained static for the past six years. It is in no state to deliver yet more cash savings and it is the vulnerable who desperately need this front line service who will suffer. We will study the details of the consultation when they are available and will respond constructively. However, there can be no doubt that these cuts could cause significant damage to justice in our society.'