Legal aid close to crisis, survey warns

Low pay and overbearing bureaucracy will force most legal aid solicitors to reduce or even quit publicly funded work in the next five years, a major survey by the Gazette has shown.

The survey of 270 firms across England and Wales - backed by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) and the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) - indicated that morale plummeted during 2002, with 81% of respondents saying they felt more pessimistic than they did a year ago.

Slightly more than 90% were dissatisfied with the system - citing poor pay, excessive bureaucracy and burdensome audits.

Some 78% intended to drop or reduce publicly funded work in the next five years, with 20% of those set to leave the field entirely.

Top Welsh firm Hugh James - with 11 contracts - is one of those considering pulling out all together.

Some 28% said they had already dropped contracts in the past year while 88% said they had no intention of taking on any new contract areas to fill the gaps.

Worst hit will be family law - 26% of those planning to drop areas will cut family - followed by crime (16%), housing (13%), welfare benefits (12%), personal injury (12%), and employment (11%).

A further 27% are set to make reductions in all areas; 44% of them said they would reduce family work, followed by crime (27%), housing (16%), employment (11%), and welfare benefits (9%).

Many respondents said they would be forced to persevere because such a high proportion of their workload was publicly funded.

One commented: 'I am fed up with the massive form-filling, low pay and very poor return on all the effort put into getting franchised.

If I could get out of this toxic job, I would.'

Nine out of ten respondents said a pay rise could persuade them to stick with it.

Other incentives were less bureaucracy (79%), an overhaul of the audit system (52%), more public and media recognition for their work (29%), and relaxation of the supervisor requirements (26%).

Almost two-thirds of firms (62%) reported recruitment problems for qualified and support staff, and many of those who had no problem said they were not recruiting.

LAPG director Richard Miller said the government had received enough warnings about the deteriorating situation.

'The results demonstrate the damage done already by one more year of inaction and cuts - more pessimistic suppliers, who are more likely than a year ago to reduce or give up their commitment to legal aid,' he argued.

'Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that even now, only a small number of respondents are irrevocably committed to giving up legal aid.

There is still, just, time to avert the worst of the crisis if the government would only heed the alarm bells.'

CLSA director Rodney Warren said the results signified a bleak future.

'Standing on the remuneration hosepipe while developing rules, guidance and regulation is overwhelmingly blamed,' he said.

'More than a quarter of firms have dropped one or more categories of work in the last year.

At this rate, it won't be long before the lights are turned out.'

Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said the Society would be launching wide-ranging consultation with the profession on legal aid, after concerns about sustainability raised in the Legal Services Commission's (LSC) annual report last year.

'This government has, to its credit, placed the fight against social exclusion at the top of its agenda,' she said.

'This research uncovers one worrying and growing aspect of social exclusion - exclusion from legal advice.

It reveals the danger of "advice deserts" where there is little or no legal aid.'

She added: 'We would like to discuss with the government how its resources may best be targeted to stop this worrying trend.'

In a joint statement, the Lord Chancellor's Department and LSC said they welcomed suggestions from solicitors on how to cut down bureaucracy while still protecting the public purse.

'[We have] recognised for some time now that there are potential problems with remuneration and we take them very seriously,' it said.

'In particular, we are concerned about the 17% reduction in family contracts since January 2000.

So far access has not been a serious problem, but we are monitoring the situation closely.'

See Editorial, page 15 (see Gazette [2003] 23 January)

Paula Rohan