Quotations

from the Constitution affairs Select Committee report

In its report on the Implementation of the Carter Review of Legal Aid (published 1st May 2007), the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee was highly critical of the reforms proposed by the government and the Legal Services Commission. The report included the following criticisms:

"Legal aid is a public service under significant financial pressure. However, only a properly resourced supplier base will be able to continue to provide the quality legal advice and representation to which legally aided clients are entitled. The impact upon access to justice will be the litmus test for these reforms. Providing effective access to justice is a basic tenet of the rule of law and a core characteristic of the welfare state. The reform proposals must not be allowed to cause irreversible damage to the legal aid system." (at [14])

"The government has been unwise in attempting to reform the entire system rather than in concentrating on those areas which cause the problems: Crown Court and public law children cases." (at [241])

"Where the legal aid supplier base is generally economically fragile and in continuing, significant decline, reforms to legal aid remuneration and procurement must not lead to a further acceleration of this decline and reduction of the profitability of legal aid work." (at [51])

“there is a major risk that specialist providers will be lost to the system [as a consequence of fixed fees]." (at [82])

"In the light of the uncertainty and the general lack of data, the DCA/LSC’s intention of a nationwide imposition of fixed fees followed rapidly by competitive tendering across the entire legal aid system is a breathtaking risk. … this risk might be justified where the whole system is in utter crisis but large parts of the system (especially non-family civil legal aid) are stable in costs terms. We recommend a reconsideration of the plans and the adoption of a much more measured, risk-based strategy for reform." (at [129])