Kenneth Clarke complains that legal aid is costing the average taxpayer ?39 per year. The average taxpayer is not eligible for legal aid unless if he is accused of a criminal offence.
There is no means test for legal aid in criminal cases but a very tight means test for legal help and advice and for legal representation in family and other civil cases. Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, now before Parliament, legal help, and representation in family and other civil proceedings will be severely curtailed, which will do severe harm to the rule of law, and cause widespread injustice. It will cause chaos in the civil courts as there will be more litigants-in- person who are unable to prepare and present their cases properly.
The Liberal Democrat Lawyers Assocation has published its Autumn 2011 Journal which is dedicated to the issue of legal aid. LEGAL DEMOCRAT JOURNAL Autumn 2011 PDF 23.9.11
which I hope all in Parliament will read and take note of. I suggest that the Bill is withdrawn and that the Justice Select Committee conducts a review of legal aid and comes up with some new ideas which will enable everyone in society to benefit from legal advice and assistance when they need it. The existing householders legal protection insurance is inadequate but surely the average taxpayer would be happy to pay ?39 per year for an effective insurance policy. In this way access to justice would be enabled.
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I live in Orpington and am a semi-retired solicitor and a property lawyer. I am also a Liberal Democrat campaigner, interested in democracy, human rights, legal affairs and law reform. I belong to the Liberal Democrat Lawyers' Association and co-edit The Legal Democrat, the journal of the Association. This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Legal Aid, Lawyers, Courts, Family Justice. Bookmark the permalink.Source: http://michaeljameshall.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/legal-aid-under-threat/
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