The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has made a complete nonsense of earlier statements that it apologised for the increased bureaucracy imposed on solicitors by creating an idiotic system of applying for legal aid.


Yet again the LSC's idea of working in partnership with solicitors is to create and impose a means-testing system that requires them giving assistance in the completion of forms for no remuneration. The forms are voluminous and unnecessary.



The only problem with the current legal aid system is that rich people - how many of them do you get in any one court in a year? - could avail themselves of free legal aid at a magistrates' court (everyone gets free legal advice at police stations) without having to pay towards the costs of the defence solicitor. In the Crown Court, defendants can be ordered to pay the costs of the defence. Why was this system not extended to magistrates' courts?



The LSC says £35 million will be saved. From where? How has this sum been calculated?



Most solicitors will do their best to ensure this latest bureaucratic pro bono burden placed on them will not last too long. I fear cases will take even longer to proceed through the magistrates' court than at present.



So much for the LSC working with solicitors in partnership - no consultation has created a nonsense.



Michael Robinson, Law Society Council member for Northumbria