Bar Chairman - Slashing and Burning Legal Aid will Increase Costs
31 October 2011
The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and
Wales, has warned the Government of the serious consequences of
pursuing far reaching cuts to legal aid, as the Legal Aid,
Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill reaches Report Stage in
the House of Commons.
The Bar Council has continuously voiced its concerns about the
Bill's damaging provisions as it progresses through Parliament.
Last week, it joined forces with organisations engaged in the
administration of family justice and/or which represent women,
children and victims of domestic abuse to publish a "Manifesto for
Family Justice".
Today, in a briefing to MPs and Ministers ahead of Report Stage,
the Bar Council has further pressed its concerns on all three parts
of the Bill. As well as criticising the threat to access to justice
posed by legal aid cuts, the briefing also slams reforms to civil
litigation funding as seeking to turn back the clock to the days
when only the very wealthy could afford to litigate for harm caused
by others' wrongdoing.
Chairman of the Bar Council, Peter Lodder QC, said:
"As the Bill nears the end of its progression through the House
of Commons, we are calling on MPs to pay greater attention to the
Bar's very serious concerns about its potential to remove access to
justice for the most vulnerable members of society.
"Our criticisms of the Bill are focussed on its inevitable
impact on individuals facing some of the most challenging
circumstances of their lives: divorce, disputes over access to
their children, serious injury at the hands of their employer or
the loss of a loved one as a result of clinical negligence, to name
but a few.
"If the Government thinks it can slash and burn legal aid
without incurring wider costs to society, it is sorely mistaken.
Courts will be clogged up by individuals attempting to represent
themselves in complex proceedings, at great cost to the state. MPs
now have another chance to debate the Bill's provisions before it
moves into the House of Lords; we urge them to hold the Government
to account."
The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and
Wales, has warned the Government of the serious consequences of
pursuing far reaching cuts to legal aid, as the Legal Aid,
Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill reaches Report Stage in
the House of Commons.
The Bar Council has continuously voiced its concerns about the
Bill's damaging provisions as it progresses through Parliament.
Last week, it joined forces with organisations engaged in the
administration of family justice and/or which represent women,
children and victims of domestic abuse to publish a "Manifesto for
Family Justice".
Today, in a briefing to MPs and Ministers ahead of Report Stage,
the Bar Council has further pressed its concerns on all three parts
of the Bill. As well as criticising the threat to access to justice
posed by legal aid cuts, the briefing also slams reforms to civil
litigation funding as seeking to turn back the clock to the days
when only the very wealthy could afford to litigate for harm caused
by others' wrongdoing.
Chairman of the Bar Council, Peter Lodder QC, said:
"As the Bill nears the end of its progression through the House
of Commons, we are calling on MPs to pay greater attention to the
Bar's very serious concerns about its potential to remove access to
justice for the most vulnerable members of society.
"Our criticisms of the Bill are focussed on its inevitable
impact on individuals facing some of the most challenging
circumstances of their lives: divorce, disputes over access to
their children, serious injury at the hands of their employer or
the loss of a loved one as a result of clinical negligence, to name
but a few.
"If the Government thinks it can slash and burn legal aid
without incurring wider costs to society, it is sorely mistaken.
Courts will be clogged up by individuals attempting to represent
themselves in complex proceedings, at great cost to the state. MPs
now have another chance to debate the Bill's provisions before it
moves into the House of Lords; we urge them to hold the Government
to account."
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. For further information please contact the Bar Council
Press Office on 020 7222 2525.
2. The Manifesto for Family Justice can be found here.
3. The Bar Council's Report Stage briefing can be found here.
4. The Bar Council represents barristers in England and Wales.
It promotes:
• The Bar's high quality specialist advocacy and advisory
services
• Fair access to justice for all
• The highest standards of ethics, equality and diversity across
the profession, and
• The development of business opportunities for barristers at home
and abroad
The General Council of the Bar is the Approved Regulator of
the Bar of England and Wales. It discharges its regulatory
functions through the independent Bar Standards
Board.