The little people

Apparently the little people of this [not so] wonder[ful] land are about to be penalised even further by a Government that is crammed full of idiots detatched from reality and screwed over, yet again, by a society that quite simply doesn't give a shit (or at least doesn't have the balls to stand up and be counted).


What do the more vulnerable and economically challenged amongst us have to look forward to? Well, currently that would be the sweeping (and somewhat ludicrous) reforms to legal aid which have been proposed by the imbeciles who reside in Westminster.


The proposed reforms are likely to affect tens of thousands of people each year. Access to free specialist legal help would be severely restricted in the areas of:

Employment (other than in cases of discrimination); 

Housing (unless the home is at immediate risk); 

Immigration (other than detention cases); 

Debt (unless the home is at immediate risk); 

Welfare benefits; 

Education; and 

Consumer law advice.

Don't think it sounds important enough? Well think again. Cutting legal help across these areas of scope will be likely to cause untold damage across the sections of society who need help and support the most. It is likely to prevent true access, or indeed any access, to justice for anyone on a low income or in receipt of benefits if they have a problem which falls into one of the listed areas of 'scope'. 

The impact of restricting free legal help may not seem too bad if you've got pots of money and a flash Ministerial post but if you are an unemployed victim of domestic abuse, with learning difficulties, huge debts and nowhere to turn for help then you might feel differently. You might feel the need to pop into a local advice agency to seek support, you might need to have things explained to you more than once, you might not be able to afford or cope with the intricacies of legal expenses insurance as the government would like and you might just find yourself in a right old pickle and with even more problems and greater vulnerability as a result.

In their infinite wisdom, the Ministry of Justice are proposing to slice and dice free specialist legal advice and representation, mix it all up in a big pot of telephone advice lines, legal expenses insurance and make-do generalist advice on the front line. They, in their ivory towers seem to think that people who have low earnings can somehow to afford to pay 30% of their income towards legal costs...this is before they start to think about paying their rent or mortgage and feeding themselves. Another option is apparently to purchase legal expenses insurance - what planet do these people live on because it sure as heck isn't the same one as me. I'd love them to let me in on the secret of how you can afford that on benefits or minimum wage - I can't and I earn what is considered an almost reasonable wage!


Having been so angered by the increasing injustice of the way justice is rationed in this, the armpit of the universe, it led me to ponder what alternative cost savings could be made by the MoJ? Perhaps scrapping the LSC and allowing solicitors to manage funds allocated to them direct by government? This would get rid of ridiculous amounts of administrative work and allow concentration on the provision of much needed legal advice. It would save time, it would save money and it would increase efficiency. Regulation for solicitors is already in place and accounting to the government could easily be accommodated - lets face it solicitors are obliged to account for their funds anyway.


Maybe its not the most workable idea, maybe it just requires a little more thought and fine tuning or maybe i'm mad as a hatter. Who knows.


I do know that what is happening is wrong and that somebody needs to make the voices of those who are not capable of shouting, heard.