Requests for civil legal aid soar

As the economic downturn puts increasing strain on our finances, growing numbers of consumers are finding themselves in need of legal help.

According to a new report from Citizens Advice, more people than ever require access to affordable legal help in areas such as employment, housing and relationships. But the charity has voiced concerns that too many people are failing to get the help they need.

Legal aid is a provision which allows people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford advice or representation. Citizens Advice has warned that fewer people are qualifying for and able to access civil legal aid, facing barriers such as patchy geographical provision, long waiting times and complex accessibility criteria.

The Civil and Social Justice Survey conducted in March 2007 found that of the third of the population who experience legal problems in a year, only 38% succeeded in getting help. These findings have been born out by two surveys of bureaux in England and Wales between September 2008 and May 2009, which found that bureaux regularly reported problems in finding a legal aid representative for court and tribunal proceedings or a Community Legal Services lawyer to deal with specialist legal issues.

According to the Citizens Advice survey, nearly a third (29%) of bureaux reported difficulties in finding a Legal Aid representative for court and tribunal proceedings on a weekly basis and more than three quarters (76%) of bureaux reported problems finding a CLS lawyer to deal with urgent employment cases such as advice about discrimination at work before the person loses their job.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive, David Harker said:

“Over the last 60 years legal aid has played a vital role in securing legal rights in the UK. But too often we see people discouraged from pursuing their cases because they are faced with access barriers such as travel distance, long waiting times for appointments and complex eligibility criteria. Older people, those who are socially marginalised or geographically isolated are particularly disadvantaged.”

“While recent initiatives from the Legal Services Commission allowing more people to receive help from legal aid are very welcome, this report shows that we cannot cease to prioritise the goal of legal services for all who need them.”

“To ensure that everyone in society has access to justice and is able to seek help to protect their fundamental rights it is vital these access barriers are addressed as a matter of urgency, especially in the current economic climate when more people than ever are needing to seek advice about civil legal problems.”