Former legal aid minister Lord Bach has tabled a House of Lords motion calling for the statutory instrument that introduced 10% cuts to legal aid lawyers’ fees this month to be annulled.

Lord Bach made use of a little-used parliamentary procedure to secure a debate on the motion, which states: ‘The reduction in civil standard and graduated fees for legal help and help at court will seriously undermine access to justice, because it threatens the financial viability of already hard-pressed community legal practitioners who carry out an essential service to those least able to afford it, including the most vulnerable in our society.’

The motion will be debated in the Lords on 26 October, before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill reaches the upper house next month. The bill is scheduled to receive its third reading in the House of Commons next week.

Bach said: ‘Community legal lawyers do a fantastic job for little reward. This crude 10% cut will threaten the future of many charities and firms which provide services to their local communities.’

Pointing to the closure of Law For All earlier this year, Bach said the legal aid fee cuts and planned scope changes were already having an impact on organisations.

The Law Centres Federations has warned that 18 of its network of 56 legal advice centres are at risk of closure due to the £350m legal aid cuts being implemented by the Ministry of Justice.

‘Many people, including vulnerable groups rely on these charities and legal aid firms for advice to do with housing, employment, benefits, debt and other civil legal problems. Without them people facing every day legal problems will be denied access to justice,’ said Bach.

Co-chair of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Bill Montague, said: 'We welcome Lord Bach's move as another step in the campaign and hope it will generate a meaningful debate that will enable other parliamentarians to add their voices to speak out against the irresponsible and rash cuts.

'They are a massive gamble with the viability of a declining legal aid supplier base,' he added.