On 30 July 1949, the Legal Aid and Advice Act received royal assent. The Act introduced the civil legal aid scheme the following year and updated the provisions for criminal legal aid in the Poor Persons Defence Act 1930.

LAG is planning a series of publications and activities to celebrate the anniversary and to highlight how the civil legal aid scheme has assisted in developing the law and providing access to justice over the past 70 years. Full details of the campaign will be announced in the next issue of Legal Action, which will be published in February.

Vice-chair of LAG, Carol Storer, is leading on the 70th anniversary work at LAG. She is also the chair of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee. Storer stepped down as director of LAPG last month, with Chris Minnoch announced as the organisation’s new CEO. He was previously its operations director.