The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) survivor made his appearance at a joint event held by the Law Society and the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association last night. Lord McNally seemed in good spirits as he joked that the reason he had retained his position was because he 'was the only minister in the MoJ the Prime Minister could not sack'. The audience last night were all aware that under the coalition agreement it is Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, who is responsible for deciding whether ministers in his party are reshuffled or not. Lord McNally will clearly miss working with Kenneth Clarke, the former Justice Secretary, who he got on with well. He said that a colleague had warned that Clarke’s new position as cabinet minister without portfolio 'gives him leave to sound off about anything he likes'. After saying this though the politician paused for thought and added, 'I suppose that’s just what he has being doing for the last two years anyway.'

 

Lord McNally will be taking over responsibility for legal aid and explained that he will be leading the implementation of the changes contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 and the review of these. He said that he 'needs to get his head round the practicalities' and would welcome the expertise of the Law Society and the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association in assisting him with this. The legal aid budget, he argued, 'is still a big part of overall expenditure at the MoJ at currently just over £2 billion and will continue to be so, even after the cuts reduce it to around £1.7 billion next year'. While his tone was conciliatory, he warned the meeting, which was well attended by lawyers and parliamentarians, that he would listen to them but 'they were not always going to agree' as he would often be compelled 'to take the case to higher levels where other views are likely to prevail'.

 

Last night’s meeting also heard from Sir Alan Beith MP, Law Society Vice President Nick Fluck, and Steve Hynes, director of LAG. Steve Hynes discussed the impact of the LASPO Act on family law, warning that: 'These planned cuts will have severe knock-on costs to other parts of the justice system. It is inevitable that more court time will be needed in cases in which the parties are unrepresented.' Sir Alan, who chairs the parliamentary committee which scrutinises the work of the MoJ, said that this committee might decide to look at the impact of the legal aid changes once they are implemented. He also 'wants to incentivise better decision-making in government departments' such as the Department for Work and Pensions.

 

There is still considerable disquiet among many Liberal Democrats about the government’s plans for legal aid. The party’s policy opposes the cuts in civil legal aid, but members of the government like Lord McNally say they were forced to agree to vote for the LASPO Act as it was part of the deficit reduction plan. The splits and behind the scenes negotiations which went on within the party are revealed in LAG’s new book on legal aid policy, Austerity Justice, which will be published later this year.