The Law Society has published a devastating critique of LASPO (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012), which slashed civil and family legal aid.
In a report published last week, ‘Access denied? LASPO four years on’, the Law Society concludes that the legislation, which came into force in April 2013, has denied access to justice to society’s most vulnerable, hit the public purse and damaged the foundation of the justice system.
The report focuses on the impact of the cuts on the ability of citizens to defend and enforce their legal rights.
It suggests LASPO increased pressure not just on the courts but on wider public services as legal problems escalated in the absence of legal aid for early advice.
LASPO aimed to cut legal aid spending by £450m.
Law Society president Robert Bourns said hundreds of thousands of people eligible for legal aid one day became ineligible the very next, but it was a ‘false economy’. (see Justice denied revisited, by Steve Hynes, LAG)
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