This edited collection brings together a selection of papers originally presented at the Legal Services Research Centre's seventh international research conference held at the Royal Naval Academy, Greenwich, London, 18 - 20 June 2008. The papers, drawn from three continents, shed light on how major legal aid jusrisdictions are facing the challenge of providing, shaping and extending the reach of legal aid in the face of increasing pressure on resources. The papers give an insight into the role of research in the development of legal aid and are linked in their focus on innovations: from schemes to encourage the next generation of legal aid lawyers, to services built around needs of users and communities, to methods for ensuring quality of services and mechanisms to deliver services for, and engage, "hard-to-reach" and disadvantaged groups.
legal aid and mediation for people involved in family breakdown, fifty-first report of session 2006-07, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
legal aid and mediation for people involved in family breakdown, fifty-first report of session 2006-07, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
Family disputes that are resolved through mediation are cheaper, quicker and, according to academic research, less acrimonious than those that are settled through the courts. Despite these advantages, only some 20 per cent of people who are funded by legal aid for family breakdown cases (excluding those involving domestic violence) currently opt for mediation. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 256, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944525), the Committee's report examines the shortcomings of the current system for referring clients to mediation, and the actions the Legal Services Commission has in train to increase referrals to and take-up of mediation services, to improve the quality of mediation offered, and to strengthen the Commission's oversight of solicitors and mediation providers.
There are risks to value for money from the way the Legal Services Commission (the LSC) administers and procures legal aid for criminal cases. In 2008-09, the Commission spent more than £1.1 billion on criminal legal aid - legal assistance for people suspected of or charged with a criminal offence. The LSC should do more to understand the market for criminal legal aid to make the most of its ability to control price and quality. In particular, while the Commission holds good information locally about its suppliers it does not bring this information together centrally. The LSC is undergoing a major transformation to reduce administrative costs and to improve effectiveness. The LSC has implemented some significant market reforms in the last few years, but it has not always piloted reforms or evaluated their impact, nor has it confirmed the financial savings generated. The NAO also found that the Commission is not always making accurate payments to solicitors for criminal legal aid, overpaying by £25 million in 2008-09. An NAO survey of solicitors has also revealed tensions in the relationship between the profession and the LSC.
The Access to Justice Act 1999 has brought about wide-reaching changes to the Legal Aid system. This looseleaf has been produced in conjunction with the Legal Services Commission to ensure that franchises have the relevant material to effectively maintain their franchise. It is a requirement of LAFQAS that organizations have a copy of the relevant volumes of the Legal Services Commission Manual at each office for which a franchise is held, or that they have effective and auditable access to all the material in the publication.
The Legal Services Commission spends GBP 2.1 billion a year on buying civil and criminal legal aid, mainly from solicitors and barristers, and a further GBP 125 million on administration. This title reports confusion and uncertainty about the respective roles of the Commission and the Ministry of Justice.
Civil law provides a framework within which people conduct their daily lives, and civil court cases often relate to problems that affect people's basic life opportunities and well-being. This is the 2nd edition of this publication which sets out the key findings of surveys conducted in England and Wales in 2001 and 2004, the most extensive of its kind so far, undertaken to examine people's experiences of civil law problems, including exploring social, economic and health consequences. Issues discussed include: the links between the civil justice system, crime and social exclusion, the relatively infrequent use of formal legal processes, and the obstacles that can prevent problems being resolved.
Family disputes that are resolved through mediation are cheaper, quicker and, according to academic research, less acrimonious than those that are settled through the courts. Despite these advantages, only some 20 per cent of people who are funded by legal aid for family breakdown cases (excluding those involving domestic violence) currently opt for mediation. This report examines the reasons for the low take-up and makes recommendations to the Legal Services Commission, which administers legal aid in England and Wales, to help increase the number of mediations. Although solicitors and legal advisers have a duty to advise their clients of the option of mediation, the survey found that a third of clients had not been made aware by their adviser that mediation was an option. Recommendations include that the Legal Services Commission needs to publicise the advantages of mediation and remove the financial disincentives to solicitors of recommending this option to their clients; and that those solicitors who have significantly lower numbers of cases which go to mediation should be investigated to find the reasons for the low take up and, where these reasons prove unsatisfactory, should have their contracts curtailed. The provision of mediation services also needs to be extended in areas of the country that are not well covered, either by supporting extension of the existing provision of outreach services or by providing reasonable travel expenses to those living in areas with less access to a mediator.
The legal aid system is one of the cornerstones of the post-war Welfare State, and since its creation nearly 60 years ago, it has enabled millions of people to access legal advice, support and representation; many of whom would otherwise have been denied access to justice because they could not have afforded to pay. However, the expectations and pressures faced by the legal aid system today are very different to those when it was created, and this document sets out the Government's proposals to reform the system to ensure its sustainability and effectiveness in contributing to the fight against social exclusion. These proposals follow on from three other documents: i) the Government's long-term strategy for legal aid 'A fairer deal for legal aid' published in July 2005 (Cm 6591, ISBN 0101659121); ii) the recommendations of the independent review of legal aid procurement undertaken by Lord Carter of Coles (details are available at www.legalaidprocurementreview.gov.uk/publications.htm) published in July 2006; and iii) a consultation paper jointly issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal Services Commission (details available at www.dca.gov.uk/consult/legal-aidsf/sustainable-future.htm) published in July 2006.
The draft Bill, published as a consultation paper (Cm 6194, ISBN 0101619421) in May 2004, contains the Government's proposals for changes to the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) grant of the right to public funded representation in criminal court cases. Its two key provisions are the transfer of responsibility for grant of criminal legal aid from the courts to the Legal Services Commission (LSC); and the re-introduction of a means test for criminal cases. The Committee's report finds that the increase in CDS spending in recent years is unsustainable, and states its support for the underlying aim of the draft Bill to improve management control and consistency in the legal aid system and to focus resources on those that need help most. However, it highlights a number of areas where more work is required before the proposals can be finalised, including the need to ensure the measures comply with the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the costs and practical difficulties of means testing and in transferring the grant to the LSC.
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