High Court to rule on legal aid cuts
The High Court will examine whether legal aid contracts for social welfare have been awarded lawfully at a judicial review next week.
Law firm The Community Law Partnership, which specialises in housing advice, lodged a judicial review after being dropped from the Legal Services Commission list of providers last month.
Lawyers and charities have warned homelessness will rise as the number of firms providing social welfare law, which includes housing, drops by 30 per cent.
The CLP says the criteria and scoring system used by the LSC in awarding social welfare contracts is penalising firms that were more successful.
CLP, which has been going for 11 years and is known for its work with Gypsies and Travellers and the homeless, will not be able to carry on its service if it is not awarded a contract. Mr Justice Collins will hear the case next Wednesday.
Lawyers say having a smaller number of firms dealing with housing cases will mean families have fewer places to turn and will have to wait longer to get legal advice.
The number of contracts issued to firms for social welfare advice for the next three years has fallen from 504 in 2008/09 to 468 this year.
The LSC did not wish to comment as the case is ongoing. In this tendering round, its policy was to award contracts to organisations that offer more than just housing advice, such as those which also help with debt and benefits.
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Readers' comments (4)
Chris | 02/09/2010 9:56 am
How is it that in this instance access to the law is so swift - action last month to be challenged in the High Court next week. Cases I have had dealings in take months to get listed, longer it seems when legal aid is involved.
The inequality of access to the law is the issue that needs to be tested, but the vested interests have no interest in persuing access to the law as a right. It seems that self interest rules, whilst fairness is an expense nobody wants.
Good luck CLP, but if you win do consider working with colleagues to expand the access to the law more widely.
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Junior | 02/09/2010 10:20 am
That right the wealth of society able to gain access. Just like Housing Associatioin and Council using are rent money to take Tenant's to court while we the Tenant's on a limited income unable to use Corporate Solicitor to fight the bad Housing Association and Council's
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Sidney Webb | 02/09/2010 1:27 pm
In the aftermarth of the worst recession since Norman Lamont was in charge, at a time of huge job and income insecurity, at a time when it is nearly impossible to access affordable housing, this government chooses to reduce the access to legal and welfare advice to those who can not pay for it - says it all really.
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Anonymous | 03/09/2010 10:42 am
Junior - what are you on about???
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