West End Extra - Letters: Legal aid

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 25 May 2007

Unfortunately, you missed the basic point of our Legal Aid reforms plan

• I WAS interested to read your article headed “Legal aid reforms ‘would hit most vulnerable’” (May 18), which unfortunately misses the basic point of the current reforms being made to Legal Aid.
The Government gives the Legal Services Commission about £2 billion each year. We spend around £400 million of this in London helping as many people as possible – including some of the most vulnerable in society
However, our budget is not bottomless and it is also our duty to ensure that best use is made of taxpayers’ money. The reforms and new fee schemes are designed to ensure a sustainable future for Legal Aid and help us assist even more people.
Your readers may be interested to know that through our providers we were able to help more than 112,000 Londoners last year, an increase of around 12.5 per cent on the previous year. In Westminster alone, we handled more than 4,300 cases.
There is nothing new about fixed fees, which have been operating successfully in some areas of Legal Aid, such as the Court Housing Possession Duty Schemes mentioned in your article, for many years.
We accept that there is disagreement about the level of fixed fees and this will be addressed when we move to best value tendering, when the market will set the rate.
The Legal Services Commission in London is committed to supporting and funding Court Housing Possession Duty Schemes, which have helped very many people faced with losing their homes.
As with any part of Legal Aid work, if lawyers choose to withdraw from the scheme we will seek to replace them.
There is no shortage of Legal Aid provision in London.
I am pleased to be able to tell you that more than 90 per cent of our providers in the capital recently reaffirmed their commitment to civil and family Legal Aid by signing new contracts with the commission.
MARTIN SEEL
Regional Director, London
Legal Services Commission

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: