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12 February 2009 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7356 / Categories: Opinion
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Beyond satirical debate?

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Roger Smith predicts an end to civil legal aid (and history) as we know it

'The Privy Council has escaped much academic investigation'

The Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) has proved rather more effective than its predecessor, the Council on Tribunals. Its chair is Lord Newton, a heavy-hitting former Conservative minister who has attracted considerable respect for his commitment to the task of revamping the majority of tribunals into a new structure. Th us, the criticisms of the AJTC of the plans of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) for the future of what used to be called civil legal aid and advice should be taken seriously.
The tenor of the LSC’s plans can be inferred from the title of its consultation document: “Civil bid rounds for 2010 contracts”. The Commission presents its proposals as a bureaucratic, technical exercise. However, as the AJTC has twigged, there is more to them than that. Underneath all the jargon, the basic idea is to concentrate assistance to larger regional units of provision. The AJTC is concerned with the consequences

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