header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Beyond satirical debate?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
12 February 2009 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7356 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail

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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Pro bono power without the red tape
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Small firms call for tech clarity as AI looms
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: DNA evidence—justice on ice?
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
NLJ this week: Fraud claims climb as courts brace for AI threats
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
NLJ this week: Courts walk a tightrope on relocation & abuse
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll