Legal aid to be slashed by 80%

THE number of people in Warrington able to get help through legal aid is to be slashed by 80 per cent, according to borough councillor Hitesh Patel.
In addition, low income families in Warrington may in future have to travel to Runcorn for advice, says the Labour executive board member.
He claims procurement plans released by the Legal Services Commission- the government’s appointed body to manage the delivery of legal aid funded advice, have dealt a massive blow to the people of Warrington.
Cllr Patel (pictured) said under existing contracts, worth over £140,000 to Warrington Citizens Advice Bureau, each year 1,100 debt cases, 440 housing law cases, 540 welfare benefits law cases, and 100 employment law cases could be opened under Legal Aid to help the people of Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn.
Critically the existing contracts stipulated that 50 per cent of all cases were ring fenced for the people of Warrington and that an advice service had to be permanently based within the town.
However the new much-reduced contracts, which will come into force next April, will only fund 185 housing law cases, no benefits cases, no employment law cases and only a notional number of debt cases.
He added: “Even more worrying is that there is no ring-fencing of cases for Warrington residents and no requirement for whoever wins the contract to have a base in Warrington.”
Cllr Patel, executive member for eqality said: “I am really struggling to understand the logic of these plans.
“Because of the massive welfare reform agenda, the stagnant economy and the well-publicised failings of the Department of Work and Pension’s private contractor, Altos Healthcare, who carry out disability assessments, it is inevitable that more and more people will need debt advice to save their homes and more and more disabled people will need help with their appeals.
“It’s bad enough that that the numbers of people who can be helped through legal aid is being slashed by over 80 per cent but we could now have a ridiculous situation where low-income families in Warrington could have to travel to Runcorn and beyond to get urgent advice.”
Latest official figures say 32 per cent of appeals against an employment support allowance decision are successful but where the claimant gets help with their appeal from a qualified legal adviser that success rate can be as high as 80 per cent.
Cllr Patel added: “Yet again disabled people are bearing the brunt of the Lib Dem-Tory Government’s policies; they say they cannot afford to help disabled people with their living expenses but they can afford to lower the tax rates for millionaires. I am urging the Coalition to re-think its policy and ensure that people who cannot afford a solicitor can still get access to free legal advice and justice isn’t just the preserve of the rich.”