Legal aid review
Legal aid lawyers cannot wait until a new government gets in to power pledging to save their sector, the shadow justice secretary said last week while urging the lord chancellor to deliver reform now.
The government is expected to publish its response to the ongoing Independent Criminal Legal Aid Review by the end of the year. David Lammy told the Legal Aid Practitioners Group conference that it was his job to 'keep my foot on the pedal in terms of Robert Buckland to make sure [the review] delivers'.
Lammy described the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act as an 'unmitigated disaster' – advice deserts have emerged across the country and the average age of a duty solicitor is older than he is. 'That cannot wait. That’s an urgent problem,' he stressed.
He added: 'Of course a Labour government will tend to these issues. But I’m praying and hoping Robert Buckland delivers some time before then and the sector does not sit back and wait – because I’m not sure we will have much to save if we wait another four years.'
