LSB Report Might Give Insight Into Legal Aid Review Outcomes

Published 11/10/2018 by Suhanya Jeyashiri

Since it’s implementation, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) has been met with vast amounts of controversy. It has left no free legal assistance stone unturned in its quest to cut funding for advice, and the consequent impact has been seismic.

In the five years since the act came into force, it has become clear that the impact of LASPO legislation has gone far beyond the initial intention; the amount on money being saved has been much more than expected as the sector’s ability to deliver services become crippled, and even Conservative MPs who previously backed the measures are now speaking of their regret.

While the implementation and effects of LASPO are something which the advice sector and the professional legal bodies have long campaigned about there has been a notable exception from the profession’s ‘super regulator’ the Legal Services Board (LSB). The LSB has historically refused to adopt a policy position on legal aid reform. Despite claiming that unmet legal need was a key concern for them, they remained steadfastly unwilling to comment on how government chose to allocate public money. Despite aiming to “put the interests of consumers at the heart of the system” their response when asked on their position was that they were only able to highlight “where problems in the legislative framework hinder the delivery of regulatory objectives.”

However, the recent review of LASPO has seemed to finally provide an appropriate platform for the LSB to put their experiences, particularly the decline in representation of both parties in family law and domestic violence cases, into the context of the post LASPO legal advice landscape.

The LSB research report evaluating the changes in the legal service market from 2006/07 – 2014/15 demonstrates, in broad terms, what we already anecdotally know; that a large proportion of individuals are handling their legal problems alone and a declining proportion are seeking professional advice. It provides real insight into one key aspect of this; individuals that are struggling financially (though not enough to qualify for legal aid), are the least likely to use a lawyer - if the MoJ’s aim was to draw more people into the legal services market, they have not succeeded.

The ability to engage with the legal system, bring your case to be impartially heard and see justice being done is a key component to our society. When these rights and abilities are restricted, through accessibility, affordability or any other factors, people suffer and it is consequently the most vulnerable communities and those facing major hardships who suffer the most.

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