The Law Society this week urged the government to seek alternatives to its proposed £350m legal aid cuts, while new research concluded slashing legal aid is ‘a false economy’.
In a letter to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke, Society chief executive Des Hudson also sought reassurance that no further savings will be made from the legal aid budget, after the apparent abandonment of the government’s sentencing reform proposals.
Hudson said: ‘I understand a statement along these lines was made to the Junior Lawyers Division, but the Law Society has had no such direct assurance.’
The government is expected to publish its response to the consultation shortly.
Meanwhile, pressure group the Commission of Inquiry into Legal Aid has claimed cutting the £2.1bn legal aid budget is ‘a false economy’ because early advice provided through legal aid saves money later.
Comprising former Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris, assistant general secretary of trade union Unite Diana Holland and former canon of Westminster Abbey Nicholas Sagovsky, the commission’s panel warned that reducing legal aid could increase costs in health, housing, education and other local authority services.
Meanwhile, the Law Society’s Sound off for Justice campaign continues to gather support. Actor Michael Sheen (pictured) is backing the campaign; he has posted a link to its website on his twitter blog.
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