LEGAL AID REFORM: scheme may cut lawyers' income by 50%



Pressure is mounting on the government to look again at plans to cut fees for legally aided family and childcare work, with angry lawyers claiming the proposals will 'decimate' the family practitioner base and leave the most vulnerable unrepresented.



The Gazette understands that the message has been given strongly to Vera Baird, junior minister at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, who has been touring the country to hear the profession's views on Lord Carter's proposals to overhaul the legal aid system.



The proposals, which will replace hourly rates with fixed fees and reduce the number of firms eligible to do the work, have been widely condemned by practitioner groups.



Caroline Little, joint chairwoman of the Association of Lawyers for Children, said an early analysis of the new payment scheme indicated it will result in solicitors receiving a 50% cut in their income and leave many unable to continue in practice.



'The knock-on effect on vulnerable children and their families will be hugely significant,' she said, adding that the proposals risk 'decimating, if not destroying altogether, the practitioner base in the field of child law'.



Family lawyers group Resolution warned that insufficient time had been given for consultation and negotiation. Vice-chairwoman Jane McCulloch said: 'The proposals will downgrade the quality of work and restrict access to justice for the most vulnerable members of society.'



But Ms Baird insisted the new scheme was calculated on a cost-neutral basis, and practitioners would not be paid any less overall.



Catherine Baksi