Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2015

Karl Turner Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2015 General Committees

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Wilson. The Opposition welcome the widening of the merits test for civil legal aid, but the judgment of Mr Justice Collins in the IS case provides further evidence—if it is needed; frankly, it probably is not—that the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 is an unmitigated disaster. This really ought to be an opportunity for the Government to review the Act and have a look at it, rather than waiting two years for the review they have promised in 2017. They should do the review early.

The Government’s own figures show that the take-up of exceptional case funding has been woeful compared with their own predictions. The Ministry of Justice estimated that 7,000 applications for exceptional case funding would be made, with around 3,700 applications being granted funding. In fact, from April 2013 to September 2014, only 151 cases were granted funding. Figures from July 2014 to June 2015 show only a marginal increase, with just 308 cases given legal aid out of only 1,250 applications. There is a real problem, because the advice is not being given. I suspect the reality is that clients are litigants in person. They are not receiving legal advice from a solicitor or counsel, and they are clearly not being pointed in the right direction to receive support and advice.

It has always been obvious that this would happen, and the Government were warned about it by most commentators. Of the four objectives the Government planned to achieve, they have achieved only one. I will put on record what those objectives were. They aimed

“to discourage unnecessary and adversarial litigation at public expense; to target legal aid to those who need it most; to make substantial savings to the cost of the scheme; and to deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.”

Significant savings to the cost of the scheme have been achieved, but at what expense? What is the knock-on effect?

What assessment have the Government made of all these judicial reviews? I have not checked the figures, but in terms of part 1 of LASPO, the Government have been judicially reviewed more times than on any other legislation in the previous Parliament. It is an unmitigated disaster, and the review must be brought forward now—never mind waiting. This is my only question for the Minister: will the Government bring forward the review, so that we can see objectively what the failings of the Act are? People are desperate for legal advice. The door has been slammed in their faces, and they are suffering as a result of this provision.