LEGAL AID “SHAMBLES” ON ITS WAY

26-09-2006

A leading Birmingham lawyer has warned that changes in the legal aid system next weekare “shambolic” - and will end in “chaos” just as a previous scheme had done.

Malcolm Fowler, chair of Birmingham Law Society, made his dire prediction a week before means-testing is re-introduced for defendants in criminal cases next Monday.

He says there's nothing wrong with the principle of making people cough up if they can afford it, but claims the bureaucrats who've drawn up the scheme simply don't understand how the real world operates.

“Last time they attempted this, they spent more collecting the money than they ever raised in contributions.” said Fowler.

“The trouble is that civil servants just can't produce a simple form - the claims document runs to 24 pages. Solicitors will be expected to fill that in with their clients, which will take an hour on its own.

“And if the defendant says they are on state benefits, it will then be passed onto the court where an official will have to spend more time checking with the Department Of Work And Pensions. There's going to be chaos. The people who draw up these ideas have clearly never been near a court.”

The reforms have been introduced because the government is concerned by the rising cost of legal aid which it says has increased in real terms by 37% in seven years.

They blame lawyers for “managing” cases to ensure maximum income, and thus reducing the pot of money available for legal aid claimants in civil cases.

For Malcolm Fowler, it's the system that's to blame, not him and his colleagues.