The Law Society of England and Wales is considering the restoration of state-funding for early legal advice, which it says could resolve problems “sooner” and save the public purse.
A large proportion of funding for state-funded legal advice, known as legal aid, was removed when the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) came into force in 2012.
But new research, published by the Law Society, has shown that people who do not receive early-stage advice are 20 per cent less likely to have their issue resolved. Likewise, one in four cases which involve early-stage legal advice are resolved within three to four months – compared to nine months for those which don’t.
Law Society vice president, Christina Blacklaws, said minor problems can often escalate if legal advice is not sought early in the process, particularly in housing and family law.
“Anyone who can’t afford to pay for early legal advice may struggle to identify solutions– meaning simple issues spiral and can end up in court bringing unnecessary costs to the taxpayer,” she said.
In 2017, Law Society president Joe Egan suggested that Government cuts meant that hundreds of thousands of people were no longer eligible for legal aid, meaning they were unable to access legal services and get the advice and representation they needed.
“Our report suggests legal aid cuts have actually increased pressure on wider public services – growing numbers of people representing themselves in court, and escalating legal problems because of the removal of legal aid for early advice,” he said.
Ms Blacklaws added: “We are calling for legal aid for early advice from a lawyer to be reinstated for housing and family cases. We are keen to work with the Government to address this issue.”
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