'Legal Aid Deserts' in Rural Hampshire?
17th July 2007
Alan Whitehead warned that the new tendering process for legal aid could create advice deserts in many parts of rural Hampshire in a House of Commons debate last week.
The Westminster Hall Adjournment Debate, last Thursday, was secured to discuss the Justice Committee’s Report on the Carter Review of Legal Aid, and as a member of the Committee Dr Whitehead raised his concerns of the implications that changes to the legal aid process could have.
Speaking in the debate Dr Whitehead said:
“There is not just a slight difference or a difference of emphasis …but an enormous difference between the process in large cities and towns and that which applies in smaller towns and rural areas particularly. There is a smaller number of suppliers, and in some instances just one or two even in quite large communities. We know that there is continuing movement away from the area, and evidence to the Committee indicated a reduction in the number of people who continue to be engaged in supplying legal aid services.”
Dr Whitehead was drawing attention to the fact that the proposed new tendering process could have adverse affects on the provision of legal aid. He pointed to the fact that the bidding process could be difficult in areas where there is not enough demand to facilitate a tendering process, or where there are lots of competition, companies could put a low bid in early on to secure they remain in the next rounds. In addition the move to a fixed cost for each legal aid case, rather than payment per hours worked, could lead to ways of trying to cut costs by quality or quantity of the work.
Speaking after the debate, Dr Whitehead added:
“The legal aid system is indeed a great achievement, and the fact that further money has gone into it over recent years indicates the support that it receives. Whilst I understand the need to reform the way the system operates we need to ensure that this it not to the detriment of the quality of the legal aid service that is provided. That is why I called on the government to look carefully at the process and how the tendering process can be reformed to meet the needs of differing localities, which obviously will need to be different in rural Hampshire to cities like Southampton. The government needs to look carefully at piloting schemes or a means of monitoring the proposed changes, to ensure that everyone, regardless of their means or geographical location, can receive assistance in accessing justice.”
Alan Beith, Chair of the Justice Committee said:
“Scottish cases that have gone to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council have shown that funding arrangements and fee structures for legal aid providers have serious human rights implications and, if insufficient, violate the right to a fair trial, so let no one be in any doubt about the importance of what we are discussing.”
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