Category: Legal Aid

Comment on the Ministerial Foreword The last consultation received 16000 responses. This is a huge amount for any consultation process. It is unbelievable that between 4th June 2013 when the last consultation closed and 5th September when this one opened, the Ministry of Justice could…

Birds Solicitors Response to Consultation Document Transforming Legal Aid 3rd June 2013 About the Firm Birds Solicitors is a firm of criminal defence specialists. The firm was established on 2nd October 2000 and deals with crime at all levels from the most mundane to the…

Evidence free policy making? To borrow the phrase used by Sadiq Khan MP at the demonstration outside Parliament organised by the LCCSA on 22nd May 2013, the Government proposals for transforming criminal legal aid are an example of evidence free policy making. In the foreword…

The morality of a thief At the London rally on 22nd May 2013, the LCCSA’s Greg Powell accused the Lord Chancellor of demonstrating the morality of a thief. Harsh words but entirely fair as far as most criminal practitioners from both sides of the profession…

The Government aims by 2018/19 to save £220 million per year from the criminal legal aid budget. The legal aid budget is dwarfed by the budgets for other public services such as education and the NHS and the saving is not huge in the grand…

Date: 21/05/2013 7th May 2013 Mr Chris Grayling MP Houses of Parliament London SW1 By e-mail Dear Mr Grayling, Criminal Legal Aid – consultation document I am one of your constituents and I run a specialist firm of criminal defence solicitors based in south west…