Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘The justice system is crying out for investment and the government should take action now to ensure against further cuts.’ Emmerson highlighted ‘unacceptable delays’ for victims and defendants with criminal trials being listed for 2026, a ‘chronic shortage of judges and lawyers’ for criminal cases and a lack of civil legal aid lawyers.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s statement last week ignored the Law Society’s campaign for the ‘full expensing’ tax break to be expanded to law firms—Hunt made the scheme, under which companies can deduct spending on IT and equipment from their profits, permanent.
Hunt will unfreeze housing benefit from April 2024 to cover the bottom third of local rents. Homelessness charity Shelter chief executive Polly Neate welcomed the move but called for it to start immediately.
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