Fresh legal aid cuts not ruled out by MoJ – Law Society’s Gazette
“The new legal aid minister refused to rule out more legal aid cuts in his first press interview last week.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th June 2010
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Category: legal aid
High Court says defendant funding scheme legally flawed – BBC News
“A government scheme that left many defendants having to pay to clear their name in court has been ruled unlawful.”
BBC News, 15th June 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Sir Mark Potter: children in danger due to court service crisis – The Guardian
“Children are being put in danger because the family court service is facing an ‘acute situation of crisis’, according to Sir Mark Potter, the former president of the family division and head of family justice for England and Wales.”
Full story
The Guardian, 6th June 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk10
Funding crisis over legal aid threatens UK asylum chaos, ministers are warned – The Guardian
“The government has been warned of impending chaos in the asylum system if a body representing the rights of people fleeing persecution and violence is forced to close due to changes in the way legal aid is paid.”
The Guardian, 30th May 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Chancery Lane welcomes coalition government proposals – Law Society’s Gazette
“The Law Society welcomed the new coalition government’s pledge to seek a better balance between state surveillance and privacy this week, while legal aid lawyers said they hoped Kenneth Clarke’s appointment as justice secretary will spell good news for access to justice.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th May 2010
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Death by a thousand cuts for legal aid – The Guardian
“As justice secretary Ken Clarke sharpens his axe, the future looks bleak for a founding pillar of the welfare state.”
The Guardian, 18th May 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Relatives of 7/7 bombers refused legal aid for inquests – The Guardian
“Relatives of the 7 July suicide bombers applied for legal aid for representation at their inquests, officials said today. Ministers rejected the two applications after ruling that they did not meet the criteria for public funding.”
The Guardian, 22nd April 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Gordon Brown and David Cameron’s ignorance about legal aid does not surprise experts – The Guardian
“Gordon Brown and David Cameron’s apparent lack of understanding about how legal aid works has not surprised experts, who say they have long been battling ignorance about the importance of the service.”
The Guardian, 13th April 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The Big Question: What is legal aid and should we be providing so much of it? – The Independent
“Why are we asking this now?
On Monday, it was announced that three former Labour MPs – David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Elliot Morley – had won the right to receive legal aid to fight charges of false accounting relating to their parliamentary expenses. The news thrust MPs’ expenses back into the spotlight and did no favours to the legal aid system, so often the butt of politicians’ ire.”
The Independent, 14th April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Accused MPs ‘will have to pay back legal aid’ – The Independent
“Labour MPs awarded legal aid to fund their court battle against charges that they fiddled parliamentary expenses will have to pay the money back, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today.”
The Independent, 12th April 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Expenses MPs Devine, Chaytor and Morley get legal aid – BBC News
“Three former Labour MPs facing criminal charges over their expenses have won the right to have their legal fees paid for by the taxpayer.”
BBC News, 12th April 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Legal aid cuts will happen ‘under any government’, parties warn – Law Society’s Gazette
“The legal aid budget will face further cuts whoever wins the election, politicians from the three main parties warned last week.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 9th April 2010
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Reforming advocates’ graduated fees and very high cost cases – Ministry of Justice
“The Ministry of Justice and Legal Services Commission have today outlined new steps that aim to rebalance the legal aid budget, reduce costs and increase value for money for legal aid.”
Ministry of Justice, 6th April 2010
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Chancery Lane calls for ‘radical rethink’ of legal aid funding – Law Society’s Gazette
“A loan fund akin to the student loans scheme and a ‘polluter pays’ funding mechanism are among ideas advanced today for legal aid funding by the Law Society.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 24th March 2010
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
