Legal Services Commission to be Replaced
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is to be replaced after being in existence for only 10 years. This is the body that handles Public Funding (Legal Aid) throughout England and Wales. The LSC presently helps people by working in partnership with solicitors such as Brain Chase Coles who provide legal advice, information and help.
Public Funding helps those who can’t afford legal advice and if you want to find out if you are financially eligible the ‘Legal Aid Calculator’ can be used (link below).
The LSC Public Funding budget which at present totals £2.1 billion has helped millions of people secure ‘access to justice’ in a wide variety of legal areas. Examples of these areas include housing disputes, debt problems, matrimonial issues and care proceedings. Brain Chase Coles is proud to be a key provider of Public Funding in Basingstoke.
The LSC will be replaced by an executive government agency, which will form part of the Ministry of Justice. This move raises concerns over the lack of independence the new executive agency will have from the government. Ministers will have increased control over the budget and they will be looking to slash the current budget by £1 billion in the next 3 years. This has raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest between the department and the very people it aims to help. However Sir Ian Magee’s Review of Legal Aid Delivery and Governance (link below) suggested this move to improve decision making arrangements, refine targets and create a more unified system that is closer to the Ministry of Justice.
Further information:
Legal Services Commission website - http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/
Legal Aid Calculator - http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/en/legalaid/calculator.jsp
Review of Legal Aid Delivery and Governance – Sir Ian Magee - http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/legal-aid-delivery.pdf
