Senior Labour MP Diane Abbott vowed this week to fight government proposals to reform legal aid funding - as the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) announced its intention to intervene in proposed legal action against the Legal Services Commission (LSC).
Following a Westminster Hall debate she secured on the issue last week, Ms Abbott told the Gazette: 'I intend to continue this campaign to ensure the voices opposing the reforms on account of its indirect discrimination will be heard.'
During the debate, Ms Abbott warned justice minister Vera Baird that the reforms, including fixed fees and competitive tendering, were 'unintentionally discriminatory' and risked 'decimating' black and minority ethnic (BME) firms. Fewer BME firms would compromise access to justice for BME clients, she said.
Ms Baird denied the reforms were discriminatory but will ask the LSC to conduct a 'full retrospective regulatory impact assessment'. She said larger, sometimes white or mixed-owned firms still offered opportunities for BME lawyers.
However, Ms Abbott said she was 'disappointed the minister did not seem to fully answer my concerns. I still believe it is not enough simply to bind legal firms to equality and diversity guidelines whilst effectively putting a number of BME-led firms out of business.'
Alongside tabling an early day motion - signed by 31 MPs - calling on the government to rethink the reforms, Ms Abbott is organising a second meeting between Ms Baird and the Law Society, the Black Solicitors Network and the Society of Asian Lawyers.
The two groups recently began judicial review proceedings, claiming the government has failed to carry out a full race impact assessment and is in breach of its duty under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
The CRE this week informed the commission of its intention to intervene, while the Law Society is also looking to back the action.
Ruth Wayte, the LSC's legal director, said: 'The LSC will robustly defend its position against this challenge.'
Anita Rice
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