The Ministry of Justice, legal aid minister Lord Bach in particular, have made much over recent months of the importance of ensuring that vulnerable people affected by the recession have access to the legal advice and assistance they require.Yet despite a huge rise in the number of people wanting help with welfare benefits, debt and family issues, there has been no adjustment in the amount of money from the Treasury to pay for this.
Firms across the country have run out of the allocation of cases the Legal Services Commission has said they can open for the year, and they have no more money to fund more. Therefore, solicitors are having to turn clients away without help. It appears, that once the money runs out, justice too runs out.
While Lord Bach is adamant that the Treasury will not cough up any money for civil legal aid, justice minister, Jack Straw, announced on a radio programme last week, a review of the use of cautions and penalty notices for disorder, with the result that more people with be dealt with through the court.
This will inevitably cost more money, which raises the question of where it will come from. Will the political imperative for government to be seen to be tough on crime, mean that the civil legal aid budget is further squeezed, or will the Treasury find it has a few more quid up its sleeve for those matters it classes as priority or vote winners?
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