The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, 2012

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, 2012

The system works by the Government making contracts with providers of legal services so that the providers can do legal work and be paid from government funds.

Under previous legal aid systems, aid was available for all civil cases except those specifically excluded.

Under the new system, legal aid is NOT available for civil cases unless it is category specifically mentioned in the Act (for instance, children's rights or the liberty of the individual).

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Which cases no longer qualify?

The government has removed funding from entire areas of civil law. They include:

* Private family law, such as divorce and custody battles

* Personal injury and some clinical negligence cases

* Some employment and education law

* Immigration where the person is not detained * Some debt, housing and benefit issues

What cases will continue to be funded?

* Family law cases involving domestic violence, forced marriage or child abduction

* Mental health cases

* All asylum cases

* Debt and housing matters where someone's home is at immediate risk

In order to qualify for legal aid, there is a strict means test. Only people with very low levels of income and capital can qualify for help.

There was much opposition to the changes :

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The parliamentary passage of the bill saw it defeated 14 times in the House of Lords, and ultimately passed by the narrowest of margins

“At present, the legal aid system is increasingly being restricted to those with no means at all. There is a substantial risk that many people of modest means but who are home-owners will fall out of the ambit (sphere/range) of legal aid. In many cases this may amount to a serious denial of access to justice.” The Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, warned that people who felt they were being denied access to justice could end up "taking the law into their own hands". The changes could also end up costing the government more, he suggested, as increasing numbers of people representing themselves might "mean that court hearings will last longer, the burden on court staff and judges will increase".

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On top of LASPO, the government is making significant changes to criminal law.

The budget for criminal legal aid is being cut by £215m, but this did not start to take effect until April 2014.

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