Help Stop the Proposed Cuts to Legal Aid

Rachel Taylor a member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers has taken the time to write a short article on the changes that are being proposed to Legal Aid and how they will effect disabled people.

“Times are tough at the moment, there’s no hiding from it. As cuts to public funding combine with a weak economy, many of us are beginning to feel the impact of the government’s ‘austerity measures.’ This year’s Carers Rights Day (held on 2 December 2011), with its theme of ‘Money Matters’ could therefore not have been better timed; with its focus on providing carers with advice about claiming benefits and accessing support – advice that many will no doubt have found invaluable. 

Less well timed then (and indeed, less well thought through) are the government’s  planned cuts to legal aid; the public funding that allows those of lower financial means to access legal advice and representation for certain areas of law. Legislation is currently before Parliament that, in its current form, looks set to effectively halve the current provision of legal aid. If these proposals become law they would both lower the means test (so that, for example, those receiving means-tested benefits such as income-based employment and support allowance, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income support will no longer automatically qualify on means but will have any capital that they may have taken into account too) and remove some areas of law entirely from the scope of the legal aid system.

One such area is welfare benefits advice, where all legal aid funding will be cut. This means that it will no longer be possible for people to access advice about their eligibility for a certain benefit, or about how they may be able to appeal a decision that has been made against them. This raises serious concerns such as, securing the right benefits is of critical importance for those in receipt, the people who require this advice are often amongst the most vulnerable in society, the system is complex and riddled with mistakes, the changes come at a time when the benefits system is undergoing a massive overhaul, and alternative advice sources are also being cut.

It is important to recognize that welfare benefits is only one of a number of areas being removed from scope. In addition, the changes to the means tests will also deprive people of access to, for example, advice and assistance about education issues or matters regarding social services.

It is imperative to ensure that these proposals do not take effect. The bill is currently in the committee stage in the House of Lords (which will continue through the early months of 2012), and it is therefore not too late to alert the peers to the importance of this issue, and how damaging these cuts could be.

An e-petition has been lodged on the Government’s website, requiring the Government to ‘Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families’. Click here to sign the petition.

Scope are also looking for stories about disabled people who secured the right benefits after receiving advice funded through legal aid, and can be contacted at christina.sarb@scope.org.uk.

To access information on how else to take action against the cuts see Save Legal Aid.”