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The largest drop in legal aid providers, at 29%, was in Wales. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
The largest drop in legal aid providers, at 29%, was in Wales. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Number of legal aid providers falls 20% in five years, figures show

This article is more than 6 years old

Government figures obtained by Labour show a fall from 2,991 legal providers to 2,393, with the party saying justice is available ‘to the privileged few’

Ministers have admitted that the number of legal aid providers across England and Wales have been cut by 20% in just five years, removing a lifeline for people facing family break-up, housing problems or challenges with benefits assessments.

The Law Society warned that hidden behind the figures, which were obtained from government by the Labour party, were hundreds of thousands of people missing out on much-needed support.

Justice minister Sam Gyimah published statistics that showed a dramatic decline in legal providers across all regions of the country – with Wales showing the largest drop of 29%. The figures were also high in the south-west (28%), the north-west (27%) and Merseyside (24%).

The smallest fall was 13%, in London.

Shadow justice minister Gloria De Piero, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary written question, said: “How much you earn shouldn’t make a difference to whether you can get legal advice on a bad landlord or a protection order against an abuser, but it’s clear that the government’s cuts to legal aid are making it harder for people to access justice.”

She said the government had failed to respond to a question on the status of a promised review into legal aid, with a commitment in February to set out details of the work within a few months.

De Piero called on ministers to “stop dragging their feet” and get on with the effort.

Meanwhile, Labour has commissioned Lord Bach to carry out a review, which De Piero said aimed to “stop justice only being available to the privileged few”.

The decline in numbers began with the government’s Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (Laspo) in 2012, which removed many areas of law from legal aid.

The 20% amounts to a fall from 2,991 legal providers to 2,393. Figures obtained by Labour also show the number of people granted legal aid for civil domestic violence claims such as protection orders has fallen 16% since the introduction of Laspo.

Gloria De Piero called on ministers to ‘stop dragging their feet’ on legal aid. Photograph: David Sillitoe/The Guardian

The Law Society’s head of justice, Richard Miller, said: “Behind these figures are hundreds of thousands of people who can no longer obtain legal aid for matters such as family break up, a range of housing problems, and challenges to welfare benefits assessments. This data also calls attention to the fact that increasingly it is no longer economically viable for solicitors to do this work.”

The society published evidence in June underscoring the scale and impact of cuts, which Miller said had “led to many people facing court unrepresented, in cases where lawyers would have resolved the issues without involving the court, via mediation or negotiation”.

“In our report we highlighted advice deserts where people who are eligible for legal aid are no longer getting the help that parliament said they should be getting,” he added, calling the support a “lifeline for the vulnerable”. He said failure to get early advice could result in problems escalating dramatically.

A government spokesperson said: “Maintaining access to justice remains absolutely vital and continues to be at the heart of our reforms.

“Legal aid resources are focused on those who most need legal advice or help. We are also making wider changes which will make it easier for domestic violence victims to qualify for the financial support they need to pay for legal representation.

“In addition, the introduction of the domestic violence and abuse bill will ensure that no stone is left unturned in protecting and supporting victims and children.”

More on this story

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