IN BRIEF
Call for evidence on impact of the LASPO Act
The Justice Committee has called for written evidence into the impact of the changes to civil legal aid under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 (see also page 48 of this issue). The questions of particular interest to the committee include the following:
•What have been the overall effects of the LASPO Act changes on access to justice?
•Have the changes led to the predicted reductions in the legal aid budget?
•What effects have the changes had on
(a) legal practitioners and
(b) not-for-profit providers of legal advice and assistance?
•What effects have the changes had on the number of cases involving litigants in person and, therefore, on the operation of the courts?
•What effects have the changes had on the take-up of mediation services and other alternative dispute resolution services, and what are the reasons for those effects?
•What is your view on the quality and usefulness of the available information and advice from all sources to potential litigants on civil legal aid?
•To what extent are victims of domestic violence able to satisfy the eligibility and evidential requirements for a successful legal aid application?
•Is the exceptional cases funding operating effectively?
PLP to challenge residence test
Public Law Project (PLP) has been granted permission to challenge the introduction of the residence test for legal aid. The proposed test would exclude from entitlement to civil legal aid those people with strong cases but no money to pay for legal representation, who (a) are not lawfully resident in the UK; and (b) have not been lawfully resident for 12 months. A protective costs order was also awarded in favour of PLP.
Subject to the outcome of the challenge, the government has confirmed that the introduction of the test will be delayed until May 2014 at the earliest.