The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) report, Review of civil legal aid: comparative analysis of legal aid systems, published last week, analysed delivery in Australia, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, the USA and Scotland.
The MoJ aims to examine a US initiative—enabling cross-government collaboration in resolving issues—and three initiatives from the Netherlands, a ‘tiered model’ for triaging and prioritising cases, building trust and autonomy between oversight bodies and providers, and feedback loops for continuous improvement.
It identified ten principles for effective provision, including long-term funding and investing in early intervention.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘The report rightly recognises that “technology is not a panacea when it comes to legal aid”.
‘While technology offers the opportunity to provide people with more ways to get legal advice, there is no substitute for the face-to-face services that are particularly vital for those who are digitally excluded, complex cases or those involving people with particular vulnerabilities.’
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