Legal aid

Tall order: will legal aid continue to fund housing cases?

BBC Radio 4's Law in Action was broadcast on Friday, 19 March, 2004 at 1600 GMT.

As the Department for Constitutional Affairs prepares to issue proposals for changes to legal aid, is the scheme in terminal decline?

The current arrangements for legal aid have been widely criticised for their failure to secure access to justice, particularly for family, housing and employment cases.

Solicitors, voluntary groups and commentators have all expressed concerns about present arrangements, while the Government insists they safeguard interests of applicants and the taxpayer.

Malaise

Lord Phillips of Sudbury, lawyer and Liberal Democrat peer, told Law in Action that the legal aid system is failing those seeking and giving advice.

"The number of cases being done has dropped by 16 per cent in the last year. There is real malaise in the system."

But Clare Dodgson, chief executive of the Legal Services Commission, the body that runs legal aid in England and Wales is more optimistic.

"We spend nearly £2 billion on legal aid and that's gone up year on year," she said.

"The most important thing is helping some of the most vulnerable people in society sort out their problems."