Sound Off For Justice campaign about government plans for legal aid changes

[RowanMumsnet]

You may have seen some coverage recently about the government's Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO), which is currently in the House of Lords. The bill proposes some changes to the provision of legal aid, including further means-testing and an end to conditional fee arrangements (otherwise known as 'no win no fee' deals).

Some people are concerned that these changes will mean that vulnerable groups, people on average earnings and small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will face a considerable struggle in accessing justice via the courts. They argue that this could affect women attempting to leave abusive relationships in which their partner controls the finances; parents trying to bring clinical negligence cases against healthcare providers; and people with learning disabilities challenging local authority decisions.

Because this is an issue that could have ramifications for a lot of MNers, we wanted to canvass your views and collect your experiences. Have you used legal aid in the past, or are you using it now? Are you concerned about the proposed changes? Or are you a legal professional with experience from the other side of the fence? We'd love to hear what you think, and whether Mumsnet should sign up to support the campaign.

The Sound Off For Justice campaign is supported by Shelter, Eaves Housing, the Law Society, the Refugee Council, Rights of Women, and Netmums . You can read more about the campaign (and sign the e-petition if you wish) here and here.

Thanks,
MNHQ

I used legal aid many years ago to divorce my abusive husband and to take out an injuction to stop him harassing me. There is no way I could have afforded a solicitor. The thought of having to stay married to him makes me feel sick.

Signed.

I thought that the govt were going to continue to allow legal aid in divorce cases where there had been dv.

Will have to read up a little more on this...

Signed

Without legal aid I would not have DLA, I have had to attend three tribunals in order to secure what I am entitled to under law and without the support of my local CLAC and the Welfare Rights Advisors there I do not think I would have managed or even known where to start. As a concequence my husband is now recognised as my carer and I can afford to run an electric wheelchair which means I can get around both my home and outside idependently.

I also have a personal budget from social services, which I use to pay for a P.A. to provide personal care and assistance. At first I was offered what I call the 'magic trolly' after a phonecall with someone from my local social services department - although I am unable to get out of bed, bathe or make a drink this trolly was to solve all my personal care and mobility issues in one go. Until a solicitor paid by legal aid sent a letter of complaint - something I wasn't even aware of being possible - reminding them they had a statutory duty to assess me. Out of that came a new home that is adapted to my needs and the personal budget that makes me a lot more independant than I was and means my husband has been abel to start a college course without be terrified of leaving me.

We used legal aid many years ago to get a residence order (am not sure of the actual legal term) for DSD who was 9 at the time. We had to do this to get her away from her abusive mother and to stop her mother being able to just turn up and take DSD when she felt like it. Before we got the residence order her mother would take her for access and then refuse to bring her back, keep her off school, keep her up very late and just let her roam the streets till the early hours of the morning.

Even though DH was working full time we couldn't afford the full legal costs and so we qualified for legal aid. If we hadn't have been able to get legal aid to get residence in place I dread to think what may have happened to DSD. Her mother frequently put her in dangerous situations. Thankfully she has had a stable upbringing and is now lovely young woman.

Signed.

The problem with my first marriage is that there was no physical violence. How do I prove emotional and mental abuse? The threats he made to me and dc were vile but said very quietly. How do you prove that? That's way I prefer the term domestic abuse rather than domestic violence.
Under the new rules I'm sure I would not have qualified for legal aid.

Well done for highlighting this campaign MN Towers. Thank you for the links.

signed

Memoo. That sounds absolutely awful and I would definitely agree that amounts to abuse. Personally I don't think violence needs to be physical. Words can amount to violence also but whichever way you want to describe it it's great you got the help you needed.

Thank you MNHQ . These changes would result in both adults & children staying trapped in situations of severe abuse .

I too need legal aid at present & will in in future for help accessing disability benefits & personal care ( Dh works full time plus is my carer , but earnings not enough to pay legal fees otherwise ).

RowanMN - The Bill won't be "an end to conditional fee agreements". There would be some changes to CFAs (for example around the recoverability of success fees and after the event insurance premiums) but CFAs would remain. What you don't mention is that (apart from changes to means-testing) the Bill would take many types of case outside the scope of legal aid, and this is likely to increase the demand for CFAs.

Apologies ComeIntoTheGardenMrsMicawber, you're quite right. Here's an article from the Law Society Gazette giving an overview that is hopefully less garbled than mine.

But I should emphasise that we want to find out what MNers think about this - so if you think that the proposed changes to CFAs are a good thing, do please let us know.

Thank you, Rowan.

If you're soliciting views on the Bill, I think it's important to flag up that a lot of the controversy - which has been raging since the government published its green paper in November 2010 - has been about the withdrawal of legal aid from whole categories of legal dispute. That (to me, anyway) is more significant than the changes to CFAs.

Hello,

You can hear Justine on today's PM talking about this issue here from about 16 minutes in, and you can read a piece in today's Evening Standard here.