subject: The Future Of Legal Aid [print this page] Recently the law society has announced that it has begun judicial review proceedings against the LSC (Legal Services Commission) over the handling of the tender process for family law contracts. These new regulations will see a huge change in how the family court system is funded and will certainly have an effect on lots of people who have formerly relied on legal aid to fund their legal expenses.
Legal experts and the Legal Services Commission have been left surprised as to the outcome of the new tender process decision-which was announced in August. Almost 1100 firms were unable to secure new contracts which has resulted in 1300 being left to cover the whole of the country. A similar bid concerning the criminal law area met hardly any problems at all in comparison.
The LAG understands that the law society has been under pressure from firms which had successfully bid for contracts not to challenge the process but the law society president argued back that they have a public duty to act. The fear is that the changes will have a detrimental effect on those who have formerly relied upon legal aid to cover their fees/
The LAG believes that certain areas of the country some clients will now find themselves forced to travel long distances to find a solicitor. The fact that remains is that a reduction in the number of solicitors providing legal aid certainly risks members of the public not being able to find adequate legal representation. This has the potential to raise problems where cases of domestic abuse and child protection are concerned.
It is only when the results of the appeals are known that the true effect of the minimised provisions will be revealed. The British legal system can only wait to see how these changes affect the current system.
