Graysons Solicitors In The Press

Cuts to legal aid affect everyone

The furore caused by the Government’s proposals to cut around £300m from the £2.1bn legal aid bill cannot have been missed.  The opposition has been fierce, with criticism from all quarters including one of the UK’s Supreme Court Justices, Baroness Hale.

The cuts, announced by Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, recently will mean that it will not be possible to access legal aid for a broad range of civil cases for which it is currently available.  Mr Clarke has said that legal aid "will no longer routinely be available for most private family law cases, clinical negligence, employment, immigration, some debt and housing issues, some education cases, and welfare benefits."

Not surprisingly there has been an outcry from a whole range of  organisations such as civil rights institutions, the Law Society, AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents) and Resolution, all of which fear that these cuts are a real attack on the rights of families.

Linda Lee, president of the Law Society has labelled the cuts, which will undoubtedly affect the most vulnerable people such as those who cannot afford private legal costs and are ill-equipped to represent themselves as ‘potentially crushing’.

Kate Fitzpatrick, head of Graysons WE’s child care law says “These cuts will have the greatest impact on access to justice for ordinary people.  There can be no equality of arms or fairness when sections of the community are essentially denied access to justice and representation.  This can only challenge social cohesion and lead not only to distress but discontent.

In fact, despite all the hype now, legal aid has actually been frozen since 2004 and represents less than one third of one percent of the public expenditure budget.  Of course we have to question whether these cuts are truly necessary as they will only increase costs through delays and additional administration costs of the courts who will have to deal with unrepresented litigants in person struggling to represent themselves.  It seems to me that some of the counter proposals which have been made to secure efficiencies and alternative savings, such as simplified procedures, are far more viable.

In Sheffield we have a very busy specialist family court which serves the local community and is supported by experienced local legal aid lawyers.  These cuts will lead to unsupportable pressures on the local court and staff and a loss of skilled legal aid lawyers.  This will directly impact on the quality of service and access to justice for families in the city.”

Of course it isn’t just those who need access to family law who will be affected.  Those seeking redress for medical negligence will also be denied access to legal aid and may find that the only route to justice is via a ‘no win – no fee’ option, and the rules on this alternative are also under scrutiny at the moment.  

Peter Clark, managing partner at Graysons WE and a specialist in dealing with medical negligence claims says “I have worked with victims of medical negligence for many years.  They are the casualties of some of the most severe ‘avoidable accidents’ possible and  are entitled to be compensated for their injuries.  As a member of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel and of AvMA (an independent organisation that promotes better patient safety and justice for people who have been affected by a medical accident), I wholeheartedly support their campaigns against the legal aid cuts.  Of course Graysons WE will continue to represent medical negligence clients and will offer the best range of funding available, but it is hard to see how changes to the legal aid system and to litigation funding cannot have a direct effect on those with the most serious of injuries as well as more minor ones.  Doctors, dentists and nurses owe a duty of care to their patients, and I cannot agree that it is right to deny those patients access to legal aid to secure compensation when things go wrong?”

If you want to voice your opinion about the legal aid cuts you can talk to your MP or you can support campaigns such as the Law Society’s Sound Off for Justice - http://soundoffforjustice.org

If you need help with any family or medical negligence issues, we are still committed to providing you with a high quality service and helping you find the best way to fund any action.  Contact us now on 0114 321 1888 or email us at:

Family law – divorce-enquiries@graysons.co.uk
Children law – child-web-enquiries@graysons.co.uk
Medical negligence – medical-web-enquiries@graysons.co.uk