Legal Update: Is there any legal aid safety net?

Among the most significant changes brought in by the current government have been drastic cuts to civil legal aid. The legal aid system, designed to help those with legal problems who are unable to pay for a lawyer, has been reduced in size, with whole areas of civil law no longer covered. This includes private family law including cases about care arrangements for children, much of education law including cases about admissions and exclusions, most housing cases, most immigration cases and much more.

At the time that these changes were being introduced through the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the government's justification for them relied on the existence of a human rights safety net. A system of "exceptional case funding" was to be available where denying legal aid would breach someone's human rights or EU law rights. When concerns were raised in Parliament about children and vulnerable young people, the government sought to dispel these with reassurances about this supposed safeguard. Lord McNally said: "The exceptional funding scheme will clearly be an important safeguard for children and vulnerable young people who would otherwise be unable to present their case." But over a year and a half on from the cuts taking effect, it is clear that this system has not worked. The Court of Appeal has just upheld a challenge to the system.