NO JUSTICE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2014 :: RMTnews 19 LEGAL VICTORIES The latest attack on the welfare state is the government's continued assault on legal aid. It should be noted that, shamefully, it was the previous Labour government that got the ball rolling on these cuts; although of course the Con Dems picked it up and ran with it. Since its introduction in 1949, legal aid has been a crucial constituent of the British justice system: an institution which is respected worldwide. As an RMT member you are fortunate in that you may be eligible for help with your legal funding if criminal proceedings are brought against you. However the cuts to legal aid will have a far-reaching effect on society as a whole. Legal aid costs taxpayers around about £2 billion every year - around half goes on criminal defence and the remainder is distributed on civil cases in other crucial areas including mental health, asylum and family law cases which involve domestic violence, forced marriage or child abduction. The coalition has already taken £320 million out of the annual £2 billion legal aid budget and from the remaining budget plans to remove a further £220 million each year until 2018. Combine that with the widespread closure of law centres and what you have is a wholesale affront to access to justice. Essentially, what we have witnessed so far in the ongoing destruction of the legal aid system is an attack on the most marginal in society: the poor, the unemployed and the immigrant. The government’s proposals include cutting fees in complex, high cost cases by 30 per cent and in other crown court work by up to 18 per cent. Across the board, the proposed cuts would see lawyers’ fees cut by 30 per cent. This is compounded by the fact that the fees that solicitors and barristers are paid to handle cases under criminal legal aid have already been reduced by around 40 per cent since 1997. But it is not the fees that are the most important issue, it is justice. If you hollow out resources injustice surely follows. The Treasury Counsel commented that the "entirely obvious and predictable outcomes will be lost quality and reduced supply of criminal advocates”. It is not just lawyers who are losing out in all this. There is further apprehension within the profession over the tightened restrictions on legal aid in criminal cases. This includes tougher requirements, such as those who do not face time in prison being highly unlikely to qualify, and the stringent means test of roughly £21,000 P/A income, above which you are unlikely to qualify for legal aid in the Magistrates’ Court. It is thought that this will lead to an increase in people being forced to represent themselves in court. It isn’t hard to see how this creates a false economy, where court time is wasted, verdicts based on poorly made legal arguments are appealed and ultimately cases are moved to higher courts, where court time is even more expensive. Add to this the human cost of the frightened, stressed, frustrated individuals who will be caught up in this process. Furthermore, the proposed reforms to Legal Aid will see the guilty plea financially incentivised, meaning that the pressure will be on to accept guilty pleas rather than dedicate the time and effort necessary in fully preparing a case and ensuring justice. The government's proposals on legal aid go much further than the criminal legal aid sphere and will affect everyone and the effect on both civil cases and criminal cases is far reaching and catastrophic. The legal aid system is not expensive, it is less than one per cent of government spending, but it is strategically important because it is a vehicle for maintaining justice, and to challenge poor decision making and reprehensible behavior by the state. Moreover, for the most part, it works well, we should be proud of it and, like that other great legacy of the post-war government, the National Health Service, we should fight to defend it. You can find out more about the legal aid cuts and how to get involved in opposing them at http://www.savelegalaid.co.uk NO JUSTICE The Tory/Lib Dem attacks on legal aid is the latest assault on our rights says solicitor Liam Welch