Equal Access to Justice

"There is a well-known ironic saying," said Lady Hale, the supreme court judge in a speech to the Law Society that "in England, justice is open to all – like the Ritz."
She warned legal aid cuts will hit poorest and have a "disproportionate" effect on the most vulnerable in society . She said "But it is not enough simply to have a system of law. You have to have access to it when you need it."

Solicitors warned that more than a third of law centres in England and Wales providing advice to the disadvantaged would be forced to close under the legal aid plans. Law centres help those who cannot afford to pay a solicitor to obtain legal advice and support in housing, welfare, medical negligence and many other areas that will soon no longer be eligible for legal aid. Figures provided by Julie Bishop, director of the Law Centres Federation, show that of 52 centres in England and Wales at least 18 will have no alternative but to shut down because three-quarters of their income comes from legal aid that will no longer be available. Last year, law centres helped 120,000 people, Bishop said. Soon, because of the government's determination to slice £350m out of its annual £2.1bn legal aid budget, the number who can be helped will fall by two-thirds to 40,000.

Proposals in the government's bill to introduce means-testing in police stations for those arrested to ascertain whether they are entitled to legal advice also came in for fierce criticism from the Law Society.