THE Community Legal Service, set up under the Access to Justice Act of 1999, was supposed to improve legal aid for civil and family cases. But legal aid is now in crisis.
It's getting harder and harder for people in need to find advisers willing to take on legal aid cases. When legal representation isn't available, it means that some of the poorest and most vulnerable people are effectively excluded from the courts.
Every week, Bury Law Centre finds more people coming to ask for help - including those from other areas. Every week, people tell us that their previous solicitors have stopped helping them, because of funding cuts or bureaucratic restrictions on the work they are allowed to do. And the same pressures exist for us - we don't have enough advisers to help everyone we see, or to help them enough.
During this General Election campaign we are asking the parliamentary candidates whether they understand this situation and what they will do about it.
We want the Government to restate its commitment to legal aid, and also to ensure that local authorities also contribute properly to the appropriate funding of independent advice services.
JOHN NICHOLSON,
practice manager,
Bury Law Centre.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article