Clarke unveils massive cuts to legal aid
By Ian Dunt
Legal professionals were in uproar today after the justice secretary announced massive cuts to the legal aid budget.
In a bid to complete his brutal 23% departmental cuts, Ken Clarke has opted to remove £347 million from the £2 billion legal aid budget by 2014/15.
More than half of that will come from family cases, which will no longer receive any legal aid unless there is domestic violence.
Those cases will still be the subject of mediation, but litigation will not be state funded.
Presenting the proposals to the Commons this afternoon, Mr Clarke insisted Britain would retain a generous legal aid system.
“No other government in the world believes the government should pay for so much litigation as we do in the United Kingdom,” he said.
Welfare was another major victim. No welfare cases will receive legal aid. Debt cases will also suffer.
Clinical negligence cases will no longer receive any legal aid.
There will be a ten per cent cut across the board in civil cases, hitting solicitors and expert fees.
The majority of the cuts will hit civil cases, but Mr Clarke was quick to list the types of cases he would exempt from cuts.
Cases where the home is at risk, which involve mental health, asylum, children in care, domestic violence, forced marriage, holding the state to account through judicial review, some discrimination cases and bereaved families at inquests will be exempt from cuts.
Counsels’ fees for criminal cases will be further restricted.
Legal aid applicants with over £1,000 disposable income will be expected to pay £100 of their legal costs.
The green paper will now go to consultation before being brought to the House.
