The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has finally published its response to the legal aid means test review.
Following our commission of the Professor Donald Hirsch report, which revealed that many were excluded from legal aid and unable to afford private legal advice, the Law Society of England and Wales called on the government to review the means test.
In its review, the MoJ has finally agreed to expand civil and criminal legal aid to include 6 million more people.
Although widening legal aid eligibility is a step in the right direction, it is critical that the government acts fast to implement these changes.
The means test is used by the government to assess who is eligible for legal aid to help with payment of their legal costs. It is available only to those who are on low incomes. It is assessed based on the applicant’s disposable income and savings, as well as family circumstances and essential living costs.
By expanding legal aid eligibility, the government will provide the most vulnerable in society with a vital lifeline – free advice when facing life-changing legal problems.
Increased legal aid helps families avoid homelessness. Victims of domestic abuse can seek protection from violent partners. Individuals who are struggling from the cost-of-living crisis can receive the help they urgently need.
Legal aid ensures that those living in poverty can seek legal assistance in moments of crisis and it guarantees access to justice for all.
While we are pleased with the government’s announcement, the MoJ must now implement these changes to the means test quickly.
Increased legal aid eligibility has been long overdue. Means test eligibility requirements have not been updated since 2009, even though there have been rises in inflation and living costs. As a result, fewer people have been able to access legal aid over the years.
The longer the government waits to implement the means test review, the more likely vulnerable people will fall through the justice gap.
The MoJ can only deliver what it has promised by improving its antiquated digital system.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is currently reliant on an ageing IT system which is a barrier to many proposals for legal aid reform, including to the new means test.
As the MoJ has said, the means test review policies 'require a significant set of changes to the LAA’s digital systems.'
The outdated IT system is too fragile to cope with these large-scale changes in a timely manner. These changes will take time and will lead to major delays in expanding legal aid.
Therefore, investment in the LAA’s digital system is needed urgently.
As legal aid providers leave the profession in droves and legal aid deserts continue to get larger, it is crucial that the means test review is implemented quickly so that the other problems in the justice system can be addressed without further delay.
Expanding legal aid is a vital step towards a justice system that works for all. It would help to reduce backlogs and delays in courts, so people are not left in limbo. It would give the most vulnerable in society free civil and criminal legal advice, so that they are not forced to represent themselves in complex cases.
Expanding legal aid would ensure that everyone can access the justice they are entitled to.
We cannot allow an antiquated and underfunded IT system get in the way of justice. The government must invest in the LAA’s digital system now, so that it can quickly expand legal aid eligibility and strengthen access to justice.
Only then can we begin to fix the failures of the justice system.
Lubna Shuja is president of the Law Society of England and Wales
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