The interim report, ‘Research on the sustainability of civil legal aid’, out this week, found the average fee earner could only recover about half of the full costs of providing housing legal aid. Moreover, lawyers were working long hours with high levels of stress, and there was a high turnover of junior staff.
Last week, quarterly statistics from the Ministry of Justice for October to December 2023 revealed mortgage possession claims increased by 39% and landlord possessions (evictions) increased by 14% compared to the same quarter last year. Of landlord possessions, 36% were social landlord claims and 31% were private landlord claims.
Law Society vice president Richard Atkinson said: ‘More and more firms can no longer afford to offer this service, as legal aid rates have decreased by almost 50% since 1996.’
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