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15 November 2024 / Roger Smith
Issue: 8094 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Profession
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A cold wind blows

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Roger Smith on why he believes the model of civil legal aid developed as part of the post-war welfare state is bust

The Autumn budget provides little comfort for civil legal aid practitioners. The good news was that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) overall budget was increased by just under £14m—an annual increase of 5.6%. The bad news was that this largely went on new prison places, more staff and ‘thousands of new electronic tags to monitor offenders’. There was not a word about addressing the crisis in civil legal aid.

That crisis has been documented by the Law Society for some time. It is true that the society is not exactly an impartial source. Its members are hurting here. But few objective observers could quibble with Chancery Lane’s plea for a full ministerial review of legal aid back in February: ‘Without immediate cash investment, civil legal aid providers are facing an existential crisis. Over the past decade the number of legal aid firms has nearly halved, while the number of

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