EHRC Briefing for Westminster Hall Debate: The future of legal aid, Thursday 1 November 2018, 1:30pm

The briefing summarises the Commission’s response to the Government’s post-implementation review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). It highlights our concerns, along with the relevant supporting evidence, in relation to the effects of LASPO on access to justice, the disproportionate negative impacts on those who share certain protected characteristics, and the effect on access to redress for human rights breaches and discrimination. The provision of legal aid for discrimination cases is the subject of an ongoing inquiry by the Commission.

 

The Commission has made eight recommendations for action, set out in full in the briefing. These include that the Government:

 

• identify where LASPO has had a disproportionately negative impact on people sharing certain protected characteristics and take mitigating action 

• revise the means test with a view to expanding eligibility and ensuring that any contributions individuals are required to make are truly affordable

• reinstate legal aid for initial advice, in at least family and housing cases, so that legal problems can be addressed before they escalate

• reform the exceptional case funding scheme to ensure the absence of legal aid does not lead to violations of people’s human rights