The proposed cuts to legal aid could prevent low-income students from entering the legal aid sector, the Junior Lawyers Division has warned.

In response to the government’s consultation on legal aid reform, the JLD has said that the proposed £350m budget cuts will ‘severely affect’ entry to the profession, create job uncertainty and job losses, and hinder social mobility.

JLD committee chair Judith Perkins said: ‘We have criticised the government for its decision to scrap Legal Services Commission training contracts, which jeopardised hundreds of potential new jobs for Legal Practice Course graduates.’

Camilla Graham Wood, JLD executive chair and legal aid specialist, said: ‘Faced with such levels of debt, those from low-income families find it far harder to forge a career in legal aid, and social mobility in the sector is poor.

‘They cannot afford to become legal aid lawyers, and the legal aid profession is becoming less and less representative of the people it serves – those without means.'

She added: ‘The legal aid system needs to be sustainable and we need to ensure that the profession has passionate and diverse young lawyers entering the sector. Either the grant scheme should be brought back or an alternative found.’