The coalition government announced that planned reforms of the legal aid system would be postponed from October 2012 until April 2013.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 1 December 2011, columns 74-75WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | LAG press release | Refugee Council press release | Resolution press release | Guardian report | Law Gazette report
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the possible impact on child contact litigation of the reforms proposed in the interim report of the Family Justice Review, and of the coalition government's plans for cutting legal aid in private law cases.
Source: Joan Hunt, 'Through a glass darkly: the uncertain future of private law child contact litigation', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 33 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the views of scholars from Australia, Canada, Scotland, France, and Sweden on the working of the family justice system in England and Wales, and compared the experience there with those using the system in their own jurisdiction.
Source: Mavis Maclean, Rosemary Hunter, Fran Wasoff, Lucinda Ferguson, Benoit Bastard, and Eva Ryrstedt, 'Family justice in hard times: can we learn from other jurisdictions?', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 33 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the impact of changes to the legal aid regime on public child law. Despite a rhetoric of protecting service quality, little account had been taken of clients' needs in the mechanisms for quality assessment. Reductions in the supply of lawyers and in service quality threatened access to justice for parents.
Source: Judith Masson, 'Public child law – a service priority?', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 33 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A report by a committee of peers said that coalition government proposals to cut the legal aid budget undermined the constitutional principle that citizens should have access to justice.
Source: Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, 21st Report (Session 2010-12), HL 222, House of Lords Constitution Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Law Society press release | Guardian report | Law Gazette report
Date: 2011-Nov
A report highlighted the serious consequences for disabled people if the coalition government were to go ahead with plans to cut entitlement to legal aid – leaving disabled people at the mercy of a complex system of reviewed, appeals, and tribunals.
Source: Legal Aid in Welfare: The tool we can t afford to lose, Scope
Links: Report | Scope press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that proposals by the coalition government to cut legal aid entitlement would lead to significant numbers of children and young people being denied access to justice. Failure to resolve civil legal problems would result in 'knock on' costs in terms of reduced employment prospects, poor mental and physical health, and possibly increased offending.
Source: Not Seen and Not Heard: How children and young people will lose out from cuts to civil legal aid, Sound Off For Justice/JustRights
Links: Report | LCF press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined how access to justice could be improved for people who chose not to have, or who could not afford, legal representation. It called for action to help litigants affected by legal aid cutbacks, including improving judicial and court services.
Source: Access to Justice for Litigants in Person (or Self-Represented Litigants), Civil Justice Council
Links: Report | CJC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined young people's experiences of civil legal problems. Young people experienced problems at a rate similar to that of the population as a whole. They reported high levels of certain types of problems, including those concerning rented housing, welfare benefits, and debt. They ranked problems concerning education as the most severe, followed closely by family problems. A lack of money, and also violence, were a cause of problems more often than others.
Source: Pascoe Pleasence, Civil Legal Problems: Young People, Social Exclusion and Crime, Law Centres Federation/Youth Access
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Nov
An independent panel (led by David Norgrove) set up to review the family justice system published its final report. It said that the existing system was characterized by mutual distrust, a lack of leadership, incoherence, and a lack of evidence-based knowledge about how it really worked. The consequence for children was 'unconscionable delay'. Key recommendations for reform included: a new 6-month time limit in care cases; enabling people to make their own arrangements for their children when they separated, only using courts when necessary; and better co-operation between agencies and professionals.
Source: Family Justice Review: Final Report, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | Review press release | BAAF press release | Bar Council press release | Cafcass press release | Childrens Society press release | Gingerbread press release | Law Society press release | NFM press release | OCC press release | Resolution press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Nov
The coalition government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the family courts system.
Source: Government Response to Justice Committee s Sixth Report of Session 2010-12: Operation of the Family Courts, Cm 8189, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response | NFM press release
Notes: MPs report (July 2011)
Date: 2011-Oct
A report said that women who had experienced domestic violence should have access to legal advice for a wide range of issues – including many of the areas of law that the coalition government was proposing to remove from the scope of legal aid.
Source: Legal Aid Is a Lifeline: Women speak out on the legal aid reforms, National Federation of Women's Institutes
Links: Report | NFWI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
The Scottish Government published a paper outlining proposals for the future of legal aid provision.
Source: A Sustainable Future for Legal Aid, Scottish Government
Links: Paper | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2011-Oct
The coalition government published a Green Paper on the treatment of security-sensitive information by the civil justice system. It set out proposals designed to: better equip the courts to pass judgment in cases involving sensitive information; protect national security by preventing damaging disclosure of genuinely security-sensitive material; and modernize judicial, independent, and parliamentary scrutiny of the security and intelligence agencies.
Source: Justice and Security Green Paper, Cm 8194, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Green Paper | Impact assessment | Equality impact assessment | Hansard | Amnesty press release | UK Human Rights blog | Liberty press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A report said that the coalition government had 'drastically overstated' the savings likely to be achieved by proposed cuts in civil legal aid, and that the cuts risked costing more to the taxpayer than they would save.
Source: Missing Millions: Government plans for civil legal aid offer unproven savings and will incur unaccounted-for costs, Law Society
Links: Report | Law Society press release
Date: 2011-Oct
The coalition government announced plans (in the form of amendments to its own Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill) to: make squatting in residential buildings a criminal offence; strengthen people's rights to use force to defend themselves from intruders in their own home; and ban referral fees that allowed people to profit from encouraging others to make unnecessary compensation claims.
Source: Press release 26 October 2011, Ministry of Justice
Links: MOJ press release | Law Society press release | HOC research brief | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2011-Oct
A report summarized the views of children on the recommendations of an official review of the family justice system.
Source: Family Justice Review: The Children's Verdict, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report
Notes: Review report (March 2011)
Date: 2011-Aug
A commission report said that plans by the coalition government to cut the legal aid budget were 'a false economy', leading to increased costs in other areas, such as health, housing, and education.
Source: Jon Robins (ed.), Unequal Before the Law? The future of legal aid, Commission of Inquiry into Legal Aid/Solicitors Journal
Links: Report | Garden Court press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jun
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was published, and given a second reading. The Bill (mainly relating to England and Wales) was designed to cut access to legal aid, introduce tougher punishment for certain crimes (such as knife crime), promote a 'rehabilitation revolution' to prevent offenders committing further crime, and ensure that the sentencing framework was 'sensible and workable'. Plans to give prisoners who pleaded guilty at the earliest stage a reduction of up to 50 per cent on their sentences were dropped. The coalition government simultaneously published its response to:
• A report by a committee of MPs on legal aid reform.
• A consultation on legal aid reform.
• A consultation (Green Paper) on reforming the criminal justice system.
Source: Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Government Response to Justice Committee s Third Report of Session 2010/11: The Government s Proposed Reform of Legal Aid, Cm 8111, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales: The Government Response, Cm 8072, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Breaking the Cycle: Government Response, Cm 8070, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | Downing Street press release | MOJ press release | Response to MPs | Response to legal aid consultation | Response to criminal justice consultation | HOC research brief | Bar Council press release | Citizens Advice press release | ILPA briefing | JUSTICE press release | Justice for All press release | Labour Party press release | LAG press release | LCF press release | Liberty press release | NFM press release | Resolution press release | Scope press release | SCYJ briefing | Shelter press release | SOFJ press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Law Gazette report | Telegraph report
Notes: MPs Report (March 2011) | Consultation document (legal aid) (November 2010) | Consultation document (criminal justice) (December 2010)
Date: 2011-Jun
A watchdog report said that legal expenses insurance could play a bigger role in widening access to justice: but the existing design and promotion of these products were deficient.
Source: Lola Bello, In Case of Emergency: Consumer analysis of legal expenses insurance, Consumer Focus
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release
Date: 2011-Apr
A think-tank report examined the potential effects of legal aid cuts on outcomes in civil justice. Fewer social welfare legal issues, especially housing problems, were likely to end in agreement; more people would give up trying to bring their divorce and relationship breakdown problems to a satisfactory conclusion; and there would be an increase in the demand for tribunal hearings.
Source: Laura Bradley, Cutting Legal Aid: Advice sources and outcomes in civil justice, Strategic Society Centre
Date: 2011-Apr
A report by a committee of MPs called on the government to assess more fully the likely impact of its proposals for reforming legal aid.
Source: Government's Proposed Reform of Legal Aid, Third Report (Session 2010-11), HC 681, House of Commons Justice Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Citizens Advice press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Mar
A report provided a comparative analysis of access to justice across the European Union member states, focusing on civil and administrative procedures available to victims of discrimination. The report revealed several problems that resulted in victims being deterred from enforcing, or unable to enforce, their rights by taking cases to court.
Source: Access to Justice in Europe: An overview of challenges and opportunities, Fundamental Rights Agency (European Commission)
Date: 2011-Mar
The government confirmed it would go ahead with the plans to reform civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales. The plans included abolishing recoverability of success fees and associated costs in 'no win no fee' conditional fee agreements.
Source: Reforming Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales: Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson s Recommendations – The Government Response, Cm 8041, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response | Hansard | MOJ press release | Conservative Party press release | HOC research brief | ABI press release | Law Society press release | LAG press release | BCC press release | TUC press release | Guardian report | Law Gazette report
Date: 2011-Mar
An independent panel (led by David Norgrove) set up to review the family justice system published its interim report. It said that the system was too complicated, with overlapping structures and a lack of shared goals and objectives, and needed 'significant reform'. It recommended the creation of a new Family Justice Service led by a National Family Justice Board, to draw the key functions of agencies together and see children and families all the way through the justice system with greater support and more efficiently.
Source: Family Justice Review: Interim Report, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | MOJ press release | ADCS press release | Bar Council press release | BASW press release | Gingerbread press release | Grandparents Association press release | Resolution press release | Community Care report | Family Law Week report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Mar
The government began consultation on proposals designed to modernize the civil justice system and make it 'simpler, quicker, cheaper and more effective'. The proposed reforms included plans to: improve the way court judgments were enforced; increase the use of mediation to help people avoid court where possible; raise the small claims limit from £5,000 to £15,000; and change the county court jurisdiction so that the High Court was used for bigger and more complex claims only.
Source: Solving Disputes in the County Courts: Creating a Simpler, Quicker and More Proportionate System: A consultation on reforming civil justice in England and Wales, Cm 8045, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | MOJ press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A study examined how the parents of children in care proceedings were represented. The courts relied very heavily on the parties' lawyers. In theory proceedings were controlled by the judge, but in practice most issues were negotiated between the parties' lawyers: this occurred because judges did not feel that they were sufficiently well prepared to make decisions, trusted the lawyers who appeared before them, and preferred that cases proceeded by agreement.
Source: Julia Pearce and Judith Masson with Kay Bader, Just Following Instructions? The representation of parents in care proceedings, School of Law, University of Bristol
Links: Report | Bristol University press release | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper examined models of social justice under private law in the European Union member states. National models were being challenged by a European Union model, in which weaker parties were helped to gain access to market freedoms.
Source: Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, Social Justice and Access Justice in Private Law, Working Paper LAW 2011/02, European University Institute (Florence)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
A report highlighted the concerns that children in care had about the family court system. Only one-half of the children surveyed trusted the courts to make the right decisions about their lives.
Source: Children on Family Justice, Children's Rights Director for England/Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Feb
A survey highlighted the case for legal aid as an essential tool for women seeking protection for themselves and their children from violence. Access to legal advice and representation should be improved, rather than being cut as the government proposed.
Source: Women's Access to Justice: A Research Report, Rights of Women
Date: 2011-Feb
The European Commission began consultation on proposals to develop common legal principles that should underpin collective redress actions across the European Union.
Source: Towards a Coherent European Approach to Collective Redress, European Commission
Links: Consultation document | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined the links between civil justice and mental health outcomes. People with poorer mental health were more likely to report 'difficult to solve' civil law problems, but less likely to act to resolve them. The report suggested a low-level intervention to improve awareness of legal rights, and a more ambitious approach that put legal support squarely within the commissioned services of primary care.
Source: Laura Bradley, Legal Support as Enhanced Treatment? Bringing public health and civil justice together, Strategic Society Centre
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan