IRR News
What price justice?
By IRR News Team
16 November 2006, 3:00pm
A campaign has been launched to persuade the government to guarantee an adequately funded legal aid system ensuring quality representation and access to justice for all.
The campaigners, including the NSPCC, Shelter, Mind, Child Poverty Action Group, Advice Services Alliance and others, are worried that the government's plans to reform legal aid could lead to hundreds of legal aid practitioners giving up legal aid work. This would leave many vulnerable clients unrepresented. The proposals threaten small firms and BME firms, often in large urban areas, are most likely to be forced to close - impacting directly on BME communities. In surveys by the Law Society 74 per cent of immigration practitioners said that their firms were less likely to undertake legal aid work and 67 per cent thought that the quality of advice and representation they offered would decline.
To support the campaign sign the online petition or write to your MP.
To sign the petition send an email to: whatpricejustice@lawsociety.org.uk. The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.Related links
What Price Justice? Campaign webpage
If you are a solicitor/legal advisor download a letter to your MP (pdf file, 40kb)
If you are a member of the public download a letter to your MP (pdf file, 40kb)
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