13/10/2009 – Legal aid review announced
The Ministry of Justice has announced plans to carry out a review of the legal aid system that could lead to separate schemes for civil and criminal legal aid.
The government has appointed Sir Ian Magee, a former senior civil servant at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, to carry out a review of the whole of the legal aid scheme to ensure that the system is delivering best value for money and providing a healthy and sustainable future for social welfare law as well as 'effectively integrating the criminal defence service with the criminal justice system'.
Sir Ian has been asked to carry out a review that will assess the delivery and governance of the legal aid system that will make recommendations on -
- the potential separation of the Community Legal Service (CLS) and the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) and the options for taking that forward should separating the services be the review's recommendation;
- appropriate delivery models for both services and how they relate to the Ministry of Justice;
- effective and transparent financial management of both the CLS and CDS and their administration; and
- effective ministerial accountability and policy direction in respect of both the CLS and CDS, while ensuring that all applications for funds are decided fairly 'at arm's length from government'.
Announcing the review, Legal Aid Minister Willy Bach said -
'I believe now is the time to review the channels through which legal aid is delivered to ensure that we are getting the best value for taxpayers' money. It's also a good time [to] re-examine the best ways to deliver this vital service to ensure the future of legal aid.'
Welcoming the opportunity to carry out the review Sir Ian Magee said -
'Naturally, I will be consulting a range of interested parties, including the judiciary, the legal professions and the relevant public bodies who play a part in the delivery of legal aid.'
The government is asking those interested in participating in the consultation to contact the review by email.
The review will report back to government in January 2010.
The press release Review into the delivery of legal aid is available on the Ministry of Justice website.