#LASPO: The stories behind the numbers
The Bar Council has today published the first in a series of short videos featuring MPs and charity workers talking about the impact that LASPO and legal aid cuts have had on their constituents and the people they support.
In the first of the series, Justice Select Committee Chair Bob Neil MP, tells the story of a constituent who was evicted from her home and arrived at his surgery with her possessions in a car.
The series also features:
- Bambos Charalambous, MP for Enfield Southgate and member of the Justice Select Committee
- Ben Tovey, London Hub Manager, Shelter
- Jane Mahon, Regional Manager, Personal Support Unit
- Rose Stone, Head of Advice and Information, Gingerbread
The clips are released in the run-up to Christmas as MPs, charities and the legal sector await the much-delayed publication of the Government’s Post Implementation Review of LASPO.
The video calls for people to sign the Change.org petition to make legal aid available for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
Recent Bar Council research revealed that in the last 10 years, Government spending on justice has fallen by 27 percent whilst overall Government spending increased by 13 per cent. At the same time, spending on health went up by 25 per cent, social protection by 23 per cent, and economic affairs by 10 per cent.
Professor Martin Chalkley’s research paper, ‘Justice in the age of austerity’, can be found here.
