• March 28, 2024
 Legal Aid Is Overwhelmingly Supported By The Public

Legal Aid Is Overwhelmingly Supported By The Public

Marking the recent anniversary of the government’s review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LAPSO), The Law Society confirmed that the public are strongly in support of legal aid.

The Law Society President, Simon Davis said:

“Our legal needs survey with the Legal Services Board shows a huge 92% of adults support legal aid.”

Figures found that funding in domestic abuse cases (71 per cent) and unfair police treatment (66 per cent) received the strongest public backing.

The number of pre-trial civil legal aid cases dropped by 82 per cent since 2010, according to the Legal Aid Agency’s quarterly statistics.

Davis continued:

“LASPO had a devastating impact on people’s ability to access justice – with thousands of people rendered ineligible for legal aid overnight.

“The range of legal issues which qualified for legal aid was cut drastically. Early advice was particularly hard hit and the “exceptional case funding” safety net has not worked.

“To make matters worse, the means test has not been adjusted for inflation since 2009, meaning that every year, fewer people are financially eligible for legal aid.

“This has led to a huge influx of people navigating the justice system unrepresented – with no legal advice to help them enforce their rights.

“Many more people simply give up and live with injustice, which has a corrosive effect on people’s belief in the rule of law.

“The Ministry of Justice’s recognition of these problems in their post-implementation review of LASPO was welcome.

“One year on from the LASPO review, the government must follow through on their commitment to reassess the availability of legal aid and give the public the access to justice they so clearly support.”

Toni Ryder-McMullin

Toni is the Media Officer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills & Probate and Today's Family Lawyer.

I worked for a law firm for 16 years, during my time at the firm I worked as a company commercial legal secretary for 7 years but changed careers and moved into marketing for the remaining 9 years – where I covered all aspects of marketing.

While in the marketing role, I achieved a CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing and CAM Diploma in Digital Marketing.

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