Hundreds of parliamentary constituencies do not have access to a local law centre, according to a warning by the Bar Council ahead of tomorrow’s autumn budget statement.
The representative body's report, Access denied, states that only 40 parliamentary constituencies and 37 local authority areas have access to a local law centre – leaving 533 parliamentary constituencies and 296 local authority areas without one.
With a well-documented reduction in the number of high street solicitors specialising in legal aid, the report states that the figures give a ‘stark indication of how difficult it can be for people to find support to address their legal problems within their communities’.
Roundtable discussions with practitioners suggest poor remuneration and burnout will also see more lawyers quit legal aid work, resulting in the courts dealing with more litigants in person.
The report says: ‘Everyone in the legal process – victims, witnesses, defendants, legal professionals, court staff, the judiciary – is negatively impacted when the system is not being adequately funded to operate according to design. There are discussions to be had about ways in which the system may become more efficient, and about where additional legal aid funding should be targeted. Ultimately, though, it comes down to a simple choice around whether to foot the legal aid bill to ensure that justice is served.’
In his autumn statement tomorrow, chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP is expected to announce spending cuts as part of a package of measures to tackle a £60bn shortfall in public finances.
Bar Council chair Mark Fenhalls KC said: ‘Justice is a vital public service that has been starved of funding and political support over the last decade. The results are clear for anyone working in the sector – a system stripped of experience and expertise, systems and buildings that aren’t fit for purpose, and a tired and cynical workforce increasingly looking for a way out.
‘This report comes at a critical time as the government is due to announce billions of spending cuts in the autumn statement. Through the evidence presented in this report, we make a special pleading that access to justice is properly recognised as a necessary pillar of a fair and just society. The improved funding that has been available in the last two years cannot now be reversed without causing irrevocable damage to this vital public service.’
1 Reader's comment