IARS has responded to the Ministry of Justice's proposed cuts to legal aid in England in Wales the details of which are contained in the Green Paper, Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales.
The headline from the MoJ is that £350 million will be taken away from the legal aid budget with little to go in its place. IARS' proposal to these cuts is for the MoJ along with other government departments to invest in public legal education for young people (PLE). PLE offers the MoJ perhaps the most coherant and cost effective strategy for enabling the next generation to manage their own legal affairs whilst preventing reliance on state funded legal assistance. The proposed cuts threaten to cause the collapse of the legal aid sector and with it the little support that young people have to get advice on a range of issues, including consumer and employment law related matters.
To read the IARS report "Measuring young people's legal capability" click here
To read the full IARS response to the Green Paper click here
For further information contact Lewis Parle
Post new comment