Migration 
Our Access to Justice Project Officer, Elinor Mattey tells us why the project is focusing on Legal Aid.
What is Legal Aid?
Legal Aid is a public fund which helps to pay for legal advice, mediation and representation in a court or tribunal where an eligible person cannot afford such assistance. It was first introduced in 1949 to ensure that justice is available to everyone and is essentially, the NHS of the legal sector. It plays a crucial role in ensuring not only that everyone can access justice, but in enabling the exercise of other rights such as the right to an effective remedy, a fair trial and equality before the law (Amnesty).
So, why are we looking at Legal Aid?
In 2012, we saw drastic cuts on funding to the provision of civil Legal Aid. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) not only altered the financial eligibility requirements for Legal Aid entitlement, but removed most private family, employment, welfare benefits, housing, debt, clinical negligence and non-asylum immigration law matters from the scope of Legal Aid (Equality and Human Rights Commission). This is problematic because it means that those who are no longer entitled to Legal Aid but do not have the means to fund the legal assistance, are unable to access justice.
Impact on individuals
The changes brought by LASPO has had the wider affect of making justice unaffordable. Amnesty found that the cuts to Legal Aid disproportionately impact vulnerable groups and exacerbate inequalities in society. It has resulted in people increasingly representing themselves and being met by complex court procedures. Although, accessing the courts according to Lady Hale, is “not much use without access to lawyers”, who are trained and qualified to navigate the legal system. Not only is this problematic for the unrepresented parties involved in terms of the quality of case outcomes, but it prolongs the duration of cases and contributes to backlogs in the judiciary in hearing other judgements. The changes to the benefit system, immigration rules and current pressures on housing will only drive the demand for legal aid for those who are no longer eligible (Amnesty).
Impact on service providers
The changes to the provision of Legal Aid run deeper, and affect service providers within the industry and the general delivery of free legal advice. Those working in Legal Aid are subject to fixed fees and low pay, which has led to a decline in provision for complex casework which requires more time for a successful output; such as in areas of asylum and immigration. So much so, criminal barristers have recently resorted to striking to improve the provision of Legal Aid and its impact on justice. Not-for-profit organisations are, according to Amnesty, under increasing pressure to provide free legal advice and representation with limited resources in those areas of law which have been removed from the scope of Legal Aid, resulting in a reduction in services. This overall reduction in availability has created ‘Legal Aid deserts’, where people in large parts of the country have no access to free legal services at all (The Law Society).
So, not only is there increasing demand for free legal advice and representation, but there are insufficient means to meet this demand. LASPO creates a greater barrier to accessing justice, it exacerbates existing inequalities and further disadvantages people in vulnerable situations. It is important that Legal Aid fulfils its purpose in bridging the affordability gap so that everyone can exercise their right to access justice.
