Tories pledge to overhaul legal aid

The Tories say the changes would save millions

The Conservative Party has pledged to overhaul the legal aid system for civil cases if they are elected to power.

Shadow attorney general Edward Garnier said the party would make it easier for people with middle incomes to get legal aid

Under our plans, middle Britain will for the first time have access to justice

Edward Garnier, shadow attorney general

At the moment, applicants for civil legal aid are means-tested. Mr Garnier said the Tories would scrap means testing which he said stopped middle income earners from taking up cases.

However, the proposals have drawn a cool response from the Law Society which said the changes would have a relatively limited impact.

Under the plans, the Tories would set up a self-financing community legal aid fund which would finance civil actions that were judge to have a "more than reasonable chance" of winning.

Where the case was successful, a proportion of the damages awarded by the court - probably between 5% and 10% - would then be paid back into the fund.

This money would in turn be used to finance other actions.

Self-financing

The Tories believe that because the system would be self-financing it would save taxpayers in the region of £500m annually, after start up costs.

The fund would cover all actions for the award of damages, money or property.

Under the plans, individuals applying for assistance under the scheme would have to pay a £100 application fee to deter frivolous claims.

Beneficiaries could include claimants like former Tory MP Neil Hamilton who sued Harrods store boss Mohammed Al Fayed for libel, as long as the case was adjudged to have a sufficiently good chance of winning.

If a legally-aided case was lost, the fund would for the first time pay the costs of the victor.

This would end the situation whereby a defendant can be out of pocket simply because an unsuccessful case has been brought against them at the public expense.

These ideas will not be a panacea to overhaul the legal aid system

Michael Napier, Law Society

The new fund would run alongside the current "no win, no fee" system introduced by the present government in order to widen access to the civil courts.

Mr Garnier said the "no win, no fee" system had failed in many cases because would-be plaintiffs were unable to obtain insurance to cover their opponents' legal costs if they lost.

He said his proposals would improve access to the civil courts, which, at present was largely restricted to the poor - who currently qualified for legal aid - or the wealthy.

"At present only the very rich or the very poor are able to get through the door of the court.

"Under our plans, middle Britain will for the first time have access to justice," he said.

But Law Society president Michael Napier said: "These ideas will not be a panacea to overhaul the legal aid system."

"Comparatively little legal aid expenditure now goes on damages claims, so it is unrealistic to think that a scheme of this sort, even with the pump-priming money promised, could make a significant saving overall."