To: Sir Keir Starmer
Reinstate Legal Aid's ability to connect you with a legal aid solicitor
Reinstate the Legal Aid Agency's ability to connect clients with a legal aid solicitor
Why is this important?
A client, often vulnerable, should not have to call around to be repeatedly told that solicitors cannot take on a case. Despite a duty to not refuse a case, they are suitably qualified, and many solicitors discriminate. They do this by stating they "do not have capacity". This way a solicitor will pick and choose who they would take on. Often is not a solicitor who chooses the case but the paralegal deciding for the solicitor. Leaving, the most marginalised without representation.
Reinstating the referral to a solicitor will help the vulnerable, help uphold their human rights, and the rule of law by actually providing access to legal aid where the UK has determined that they should receive funding for this. Else the legal aid agency is merely providing the illusion of help, without having to produce the rabbit. Not connecting them to a solicitor the UK may be denying this right by the back door.
When the outgoing government removed the option to be referred, they were also silently applying a reduction in the amount of legal aid being made available. As well as gatekeeping, there are added resistances to finding solicitors. Often the legal aid search on Resolution, Law Society and the .gov website is not up to date. This adds unneeded friction to the process, at a time is everything to a person who needs to obtain and instruct solicitors.
No, fixing the database will not stop the gatekeeping. Because maybe the databases are up to date.
I hope that you will support the access to the legal aid agency so that you can continue to uphold the rule of law for the UK, and its human rights record.
Reinstating the referral to a solicitor will help the vulnerable, help uphold their human rights, and the rule of law by actually providing access to legal aid where the UK has determined that they should receive funding for this. Else the legal aid agency is merely providing the illusion of help, without having to produce the rabbit. Not connecting them to a solicitor the UK may be denying this right by the back door.
When the outgoing government removed the option to be referred, they were also silently applying a reduction in the amount of legal aid being made available. As well as gatekeeping, there are added resistances to finding solicitors. Often the legal aid search on Resolution, Law Society and the .gov website is not up to date. This adds unneeded friction to the process, at a time is everything to a person who needs to obtain and instruct solicitors.
No, fixing the database will not stop the gatekeeping. Because maybe the databases are up to date.
I hope that you will support the access to the legal aid agency so that you can continue to uphold the rule of law for the UK, and its human rights record.
