Submission to the Justice Committee Inquiry on the Future of Legal Aid

 

The Justice Committee is conducting an Inquiry into the future of legal aid and launched a consultation on 7 September 2020 with the following terms of reference:

  • How LASPO has affected access to justice views on the post-implementation review and the criminal legal aid review;

  • The role of the Legal Aid Agency;

  • Recruitment and retention problems among legal aid professionals;

  • The impact of the court reform programme and the increasing use of technology on legal aid services and clients;

  • The impact of Covid-19 on legal aid services and clients; and

  • What the challenges are for legal aid over the next decade, what reforms are needed and what can be learnt from elsewhere.

YLAL has substantial concerns about the impact that LASPO has had on the above and upon our justice system at large.

You can read our consultation response here.