Law Society warns that Government changes to legal aid pose "significant risk"

The Law Society has warned the Justice select committee that proposed changes to legal aid pose "significant risks" to the stability of our criminal justice system.

The Law Society which represents solicitors in England and Wales, has written formally to the Government in response to Ministry of Justice proposals to make the pricing of legal aid at least partly competitive.

In the Government’s response to the consultation they wrote: “A model of competition where price is set administratively would still enable us to achieve the overall policy objectives of a sustainable, more efficient service at a cost the taxpayer can afford.”

Part of this administrative price setting could see a flat fee be introduced for legal aid to court cases.

Nicholas Fluck, Law Society president said: “Flat fees in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court - the same payment no matter whether the defendant pleads guilty, the trial cracks or there is a full trial - make us deeply uneasy. While solicitors will, of course, follow their professional obligation to ensure that a defendant is properly represented there is a serious risk that clients may ignore sensible advice if they perceive that it is being driven by financial considerations.”

In The Ministry of Justice proposals for changes, they wrote “The scope of legal aid in England and Wales has expanded since it was first established and the scheme now costs over £2 billion a year.

“It is one of the most comprehensive, and expensive, legal aid provisions in the world."

However this justification has received criticism from the Bar Council, comprised of leaders from the six circuits in England and wales. They said: “The Government is deliberately misleading the public, quoting inaccurate figures to force through its proposed changes to legal aid."

They state that comparing funding in separate legal systems is more complicated than just looking at legal aid costs as in some countries, money spent on legal costs may be included elsewhere.

They state that when looking at spending on "all courts, legal aid and public prosecution" across the world rather than just legal aid, England and Wales is above average but not among the most expensive.

The £2 billion cost per year is, while large, a steady figure, with spending on legal aid only a 3% rise in legal aid cost since 2000.

Also among the government proposals are a tightening of restrictions on who is eligible for legal aid, possibly bringing in a residence test to ensure that those receive legal aid are either UK residents, residents of overseas territories or crown dependencies.

Members of the UK Armed Forces, their families living outside the UK and asylum seekers would be exempt from residency restrictions on legal aid.