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Our criminal justice system has come under the spotlight in recent years. Most recently, we saw thousands of barristers striking over working conditions and salaries, with news coverage bringing many of the gaps in our justice system to the forefront. Our criminal justice system has also been the subject of various mainstream books in recent years – including those published by The Secret Barrister.
The most divisive topic by far is legal aid – in particular, the growing lack of access to it. However, a new LexisNexis report has revealed the reality is even bleaker for those unlucky enough to live outside of areas with local provisions.
The LexisNexis Legal Aid Deserts report found more than 2.12m people in England and Wales live in legal aid deserts for crime-related legal cases.
Download the LexisNexis Legal Aid Deserts report for free here.
After reading the report, the Secret Barrister said: “The rule of law is meaningless unless people have access to legal representation. The LexisNexis report shows how, in many areas of the country, this is the grim reality.”
To form a better picture of the day-to-day reality of those working in criminal legal aid, we reached out to two experts.
It’s no secret that the criminal legal aid just system is – and has been for a while now – in disarray. The LexisNexis report found that there are only 0.89 criminal legal aid providers per 1,000 incidents in the five best-served local authorities and that the crime legal deserts in the bottom 10% had zero providers per 1,000 incidents. That’s a significant population of the country with little to no access to legal aid.
Fintan Walker, Manager of the University of Manchester Legal Advice Centre (LAC) and practising Criminal Defence Solicitor, says finding fresh talent is one of the biggest hurdles.
"The strain on the legal aid system is becoming more noticeable. The number of firms relinquishing their legal aid contacts, predominantly criminal, has risen, even in large and highly populated areas such as Greater Manchester. Firms that are continuing to provide a legally aided service are struggling to recruit young lawyers due to noncompetitive salaries. This has led to more pressure on the pro bono sector to fill the gaps."
Former Criminal Defence Solicitor and Lecturer at the University of Manchester, Suzanne Gower, points to the huge underfunding that the sector has historically undergone.
“The Legal Aid Agency is not fit for purpose, and compliance with their regulatory regime imposes huge and unnecessary administrative burdens upon firms.”
“Criminal legal aid lawyers have not had a pay rise since 1993, and even had a cut of 8.5% in that time. No one ever went into legal aid work expecting to become rich by doing so, but equally, you do not expect to be poor when entering a profession which is so difficult to get into in terms of the high academic standards required, the long and expensive training, which is also so emotionally and physically demanding of you.”
“There really is so little incentive for any practitioners to remain working in the field of criminal law that the future of the profession is incredibly precarious. It is a rapidly ageing profession and without major investment at every level, legal aid deserts will become the norm, not the exception.”
While lawyers can choose to walk away from their chosen profession, the users of the system do not have that option, says Gower. “They have no option but to struggle on within an unfamiliar system without adequate support and find themselves at risk of becoming the victim of a miscarriage of justice.”
It’s clear that reform is desperately needed to get the criminal legal aid system back on track, and to help people to access the support that they need, often in their darkest times.
So, what does the future hold for legal aid? Walker goes on to outline where he thinks the sector is going.
“My main concern, going forward, is that existing advice deserts will expand and the public will increasingly struggle to enforce their legal rights in areas of social welfare. Legal aid rates will become increasingly unattractive to traditional high street firms who have historically provided publicly funded advice and assistance to those most in need.”
This commentary shows that pay conditions just aren’t attractive to legal aid lawyers. Gower agrees, stating:
“Those who are unable to secure representation under legal aid and without access to the tens of thousands of pounds necessary to fund a defence in a Crown Court trial will be left with no option but to represent themselves within a system which is not designed for unrepresented defendants and is certainly not equipped to adequately assist anyone with vulnerabilities such as learning disabilities.”
"Legal aid is sadly just one of the problems being experienced by the criminal justice system but it is so crucial to our claim to be a functioning democracy, maintaining the principles of equality of arms and innocence until guilt has been proven.”
If you want to learn more about criminal legal aid deserts in the UK, then read the full LexisNexis report, here.
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