A report made recommendations for far-reaching changes in the system for access to justice and legal aid. Recommendations included: using money from an increased tax on alcohol to support the legal aid fund and other criminal justice agencies; addressing inefficiencies and poor decision-making in the justice system and across government that generated legal aid costs; a review of civil procedure, particularly in respect to low-value cases; reducing legal aid bureaucracy; and giving practitioners greater autonomy to deliver services and come up with innovative means of delivery.
Source: Access to Justice Review: Final report, Law Society
Links: Report | Law Society press release
Date: 2010-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals to reform the legal aid system, and also the system of civil litigation costs, in England and Wales. A wide range of civil cases would no longer be eligible for legal aid – including virtually all those relating to debt, education, employment, housing, immigration, and welfare benefits. Fees paid in civil and family cases would be cut by 10 per cent across the board. Competitive tendering for criminal legal aid would be introduced in 2011-12, and (later) for civil and family legal aid. The government also proposed to abolish recoverability of success fees and associated costs in 'no win no fee' conditional fee agreements.
Source: Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales, Cm 7967, Ministry of Justice/TSO | Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales, Cm 7947, Ministry of Justice/TSO
Links: Consultation document (1) | Consultation document (2) | Hansard | MOJ press release | Bar Council press release | Citizens Advice press release | Disability Alliance press release | Law Society press release | Resolution press release | Scope press release | Children & Young People Now report | Law Gazette report | Guardian report | BBC report | Inside Housing report | Personnel Today report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Nov
The Scottish Government published its response to an official review (published in October 2009) of the Scottish civil courts system. It agreed that there were too many aspects of the civil courts that were 'unsatisfactory, unaffordable or inefficient'.
Source: Scottish Government Response to the Report and Recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review, Scottish Government
Links: Response | Review report | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-Nov
An article set out the findings from an analysis of the relationship between job loss and the experience of rights problems. It considered the likely scale of the economic recession's impact on the incidence of rights problems and demand for legal (and legal aid) services.
Source: Pascoe Pleasence and Nigel Balmer, 'The audacity of justice: recession, redundancy, rights and legal aid', Social Policy and Society, Volume 9 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Oct
A report described the main findings from a continuous survey of civil and social justice issues in England and Wales, which detailed people's experiences of civil justice problems and the strategies they used to resolve them.
Source: Pascoe Pleasence, Nigel Balmer, Ash Patel and Catrina Denvir, Civil Justice in England and Wales 2009: Report of the 2006-9 English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey, Legal Services Research Centre/Legal Services Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Sep
A report made a series of proposals for tribunal reform in Northern Ireland.
Source: Grainne McKeever and Brian Thompson, Redressing Users' Disadvantage: Proposals for tribunal reform in Northern Ireland, Law Centre (NI)
Links: Summary | Law (NI) press release | Ulster University press release
Date: 2010-Jun
An interim report examined the major issues that impeded access to justice. It considered the existing situation; eligibility and scope for legal aid; and possible alternative funding options and procurement/delivery models.
Source: Access to Justice Review, Law Society
Links: Report | Law Society press release
Date: 2010-Apr
A study examined the views of children and young people regarding press access to, and reporting of, family court proceedings. The findings indicated that substantial problems were likely to arise for children and young people, with serious implications for children's safety and welfare. Almost all the children and young people interviewed (96 per cent) said that once they were told that a reporter might be in court they would be unwilling, or less willing, to talk to a clinician about ill-treatment or disputes about their care, or about their wishes and feelings.
Source: Julia Brophy, The Views of Children and Young People Regarding Media Access to Family Courts, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release | Oxford University press release
Date: 2010-Mar
The report of an official review made recommendations designed to improve the system of legal aid delivery, and set out options for structural change. The government said that it would make the Legal Services Commission into an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, in order to achieve tighter financial control over the £2.1 billion budget.
Source: Ian Magee, Review of Legal Aid Delivery and Governance, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | Hansard | MOJ press release | LSC press release | Bar Council press release | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report examined the implications for local government of changes in the way in which the Legal Services Commission funded legal advice, through community legal advice centres and networks. It considered the options available to local authorities that wished to make changes to the existing provision of advice in their area; key lessons for local authorities that could be drawn from experiences of developing community legal advice; and wider implications, risks, and dilemmas for local authorities moving to commission other services where voluntary sector providers played a prominent role.
Source: Tribal Group, Early Lessons from Changes to Legal Advice Provision and Funding: The local authority experience, Local Government Association
Date: 2010-Mar
A new book examined the part played by the law in defining, structuring, and controlling the relationship between the family and society.
Source: Michael Freeman, Family Values and Family Justice, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Feb
A government-commissioned review examined the issue of costs in civil litigation. It made a series of recommendations designed to bring costs under control and make them fairer.
Source: Rupert Jackson, Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report, Ministry of Justice/TSO
Links: Report | MOJ press release | Index on Censorship press release | TUC press release
Date: 2010-Jan