With thanks to consultant Matthew Howgate, we have published the following guidance on Legal Aid Agency (LAA) contract compliance in the wake of the measures introduced by the LAA and the steps that providers are needing to take during the COVID-19 crisis. This guidance takes into account and seeks to interpret LAA guidance released [...]
In recent weeks we have been working with a group of experienced legal aid lawyers to try to get a better understanding of what appears to be a growing and pressing problem: the apparent ‘culture of refusal’ within the LAA. We have agreed that to gauge the extent of this issue we need a [...]
Press Release Ministry of Justice’s Post-Implementation Review of Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) The report is an overdue recognition of the crisis in access to justice, triggered by LASPO. Many of the recommendations for the future are positive, but much more is needed to remedy the [...]
The government released the official legal aid statistic on 13 December 2018, brining the data set up to date to 30 September 2018. Worryingly, crime expenditure and workload have both decreased. Fewer civil legal help matters have been started, continuing the trend since the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Mediation [...]
Joining the Dots: Domestic abuse, civil and criminal justice and technology Crest Advisory and CGI have undertaken a partnership research project to identify ways to address the twenty-first century challenges of tackling domestic abuse across the justice system and beyond. Domestic abuse is a prevalent, high-impact crime with widespread and lasting consequences. Today in England and Wales [...]
On 26th April 2018 LAPG held a reception to launch its second Annual Review. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC spoke about the importance of legal aid work and the rule of law. She remembered once being asked if she was the barrister who represented ‘women and other criminals’. Co–chairs Jenny Beck and Nicola Mackintosh QC(Hon) referred [...]
Dr Marie Burton, within her PhD thesis: Calling for Justice: Comparing telephone and face-to-face advice in social welfare Law (LSE, 2016), has found that: There are significant consequences of replacing face-to-face advice with telephone advice in social welfare law. These consequences can seriously disadvantage many social welfare clients, particularly those who are more vulnerable and [...]
The APPG on Legal Aid collaborated with organisations from across the advice sector to engage with MPs and their caseworkers at an event in Portcullis House on 1 November 2018. The event was organised to introduce MPs and their caseworkers to organisations that provide training, resources and referral sources to help MPs and caseworkers provide [...]
Legal Aid Practitioners Group sets out detailed plan for undoing damage caused by LASPO cuts. The Legal Aid Practitioners Group has drawn on the expertise and experience of its members to produce a 'pragmatic and clear' manifesto for restoring access to justice, lost following the 2012 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. Writing [...]
Over the last two years, LAPG co-chair Nicola Mackintosh QC (Hon), committee members Julie Bishop and Laura Janes and director Carol Storer have been sitting on the Bach Commission. We heard from more than 100 individuals and organisations. The commission has found that cuts to legal aid have created a two-tier justice system where the [...]