THE Law Society of Scotland welcomed the decision of the High Court in London yesterday, Thursday, 30 September, which dismissed the tendering process used in England and Wales to allocate family legal aid work as ‘unfair, unlawful and irrational’.
Says a spokesperson: “The Law Society of England and Wales commenced judicial review proceedings against the Legal Services Commission after a disastrous tendering process saw the number of firms permitted to provide family legal aid slashed from 2,470 to around 1,350.
“This cull of providers entailed that some of the most highly regarded and specialist providers in the country failed to secure contracts, resulting gaps in geographic coverage, and significant reduction in access to justice for local communities, particularly in areas such as domestic abuse and forced marriage.”
Oliver Adair, Legal Aid convener at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “The current economic climate presents a huge challenge to maintain access to justice, both north and south of the border.
“Unlike our counterparts in England and Wales, we do not use a tendering system for legal aid. Today’s judgement clearly illustrates that there are fundamental difficulties with tendering for legal aid in any capacity.
“Legal aid is there to help the most vulnerable and deprived in our society. Scotland has a diverse range of practices providing legal aid, from sole practitioners to large firms, which provide a high-quality service to local communities, and at value for money to the public purse.
“While we must always be conscious of ensuring the system is as efficient and cost effective as possible, undercutting justice cannot be an option and we must not deny access to justice to those who need it most.
“The experience in England and Wales has shown us that introducing a tendering system to our jurisdiction would risk damaging access to justice.”
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