Legal aid cut ‘a false economy’

The country’s top judges have warned the Government that its planned legal aid cuts could be “false economies” and would hinder access to justice. Costs may simply be pushed from one part of the legal system to another and the move could hit standards, they believe. The top 10 judges in England and Wales who form the Judicial Executive Board acknowledged there is a need for efficiency savings but the plans as they stand could affect the quality of case preparation and court representation. Under the Government’s proposals, lawyers would be bidding for legal aid contracts in a price competition.

Many lawyers have already abandoned legal aid work and those entering the profession with sufficient skills and reputation are doing likewise, the judges warned. “Able practitioners who remain active in publicly funded fields, particularly in crime, family and judicial review, are often in evident overstretched, because, unsurprisingly, the services they offer are in greater demand than those offered by their less competent colleagues,” they added. The Judicial Executive Board’s strong statement comes after the 600-member Council of Circuit Judges issued a similarly critical statement of the plans.

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