Sunday 1 April 2012

Support for legal Aid

P of M has been mostly busy writing more letters (and hopeing for a postive result) - this one is for my local MP... but dont hold out much hope, since he is a Tory (well what do you expect i live in kent) ;)



Dear Sir:

I am writing to you as a concerned local constitute and also as a volunteer for local community legal aid advice services. My concern is the current Legal Aid Bill and proposed budget cuts which are going through parliament at this present moment of time.

I enjoy my volunteer work because it allows me to put something of myself back into the community in which I live; but I also find myself frustrated when I come across members of the public and I cannot help them with their particular problem, because current funding does not exist beyond giving some basic initial advice from an unqualified volunteer such as myself.

Often, very basic advice is all a member of the public needs to resolve a particular issue such housing, debt, consumer, family welfare or perhaps employment problems; however sometimes, needs can be of a more extensive nature which goes beyond my knowledge and experience and indeed remit as an unpaid volunteer.

This is a problem because it creates a legal justice deficit that goes to the very core of living in a civil society with a strong rule of law. This evidently does create a bad undercurrent in our society which results in members of the public losing respect in the legal justice system, as a fair process of redress, and perhaps also goes half way to explain why so many people (especial young people) feel much disengagement and apathy towards politics in general.

As an extreme example, I would refer you to the independent report, by the Riots Communities and Victims Panel, into last summer’s disruptions.

What I am basically saying is that this government cannot continue to rely on the good will of people such as myself, if the government in turn, continues on its present course and cuts an estimated £350 million from the legal aid budget.
I volunteer approximately 10 hours of my free time every week, and I also hold down a busy full-time job as an NHS nurse – I can only perform well in my volunteer role because I fully rely upon people who are (not unpaid volunteers) and work full time as paid managers, case workers and legal aid lawyers.

I understand the current policy to make budget cuts, but the current proposed legislation is also poorly thought out using blanket measures to cut costs at the expense of something which corrodes the very fabric of our civil society – the real expense in legal aid is the vast and complex bureaucracy used to administer funding, this is totally inefficient for the tax payer and results in lower levels of good legal advice and advocacy reaching the people who need it most.

Finally, as a member of parliament who holds consultation with local constituents, I would strongly urge you to at least read the executive summery of this document written by the Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) – see document attached – since I feel the repercussions will directly effect you as a member of parliament.

YLAL REPORT

kind regards

P of M