The Government has wasted no time in pursuing its aim to review the legal aid system as promised in the Coalition programme for government published in May.

In a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 23 June, Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke set out the background of the Government’s immediate priority to reduce the financial deficit and encourage economic recovery. The main burden of the deficit reduction is to be borne by reduced public spending, coupled with the most efficient and effective delivery of public services. He said: “I am seeking to develop an approach to legal aid spending which balances these necessary financial constraints with the interests of justice and the wider public interest. We will seek to develop an approach which is compatible with fair and necessary access to justice for those who need it most, the protection of the most vulnerable in our society, the efficient performance of the justice system, and our international legal obligations.” He concluded by stating that the government will consider the policy and intend to seek views on a proposed new approach in the autumn.

The Law Society had already fired its first shot across the bows in late May when it warned that plans announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to cut the Ministry of Justice budget by £325 million must not include front line legal aid services at a time when the public needs them the most. This warning came after a recent YouGov poll revealed public support for legal aid. The research, conducted on behalf of legal research company Jures, showed that over two-thirds of consumers backed publicly funded legal advice through the legal aid system for those unable to afford a lawyer. Law Society President Robert Heslett said: “In a time of austerity, it is no doubt tempting to see legal aid as an area where cuts could safely be made without arousing voter concern, but this is precisely the time when legal aid services are most needed, to protect ordinary people from unfair decisions about issues on their employment, housing and benefit entitlement; more than that, to ensure that children receive the best representation in care and family cases.” He added that he hoped the necessary cuts would come from the Legal Service Commission’s own administrative costs and the fees of a very few extremely well paid barristers rather than funds required for legal aid. “We are urging the Justice Secretary to make savings in areas that will not deny the public basic legal rights.”