Not only are we threatened with massive legal aid cuts, but the Legal Services Commission seems to be becoming slower at processing work.

On 8 June, I exercised devolved powers to grant emergency legal aid to a client in connection with an appeal against a decision in child care proceedings.

The appeal was listed for hearing on 29 June. Yet when I checked with the LSC by telephone on 23 June, I could get no indication whatsoever to confirm that legal aid had actually been granted to my client.

The person to whom I spoke said that on 23 June his office was dealing with applications received on 1 June and that there was no way that he could move my client’s case further up the queue.

At the time of writing, it seems unlikely that I will get a decision on my client’s legal aid entitlement before the hearing date of the appeal.

Am I therefore expected to do the work on trust? Apparently, the LSC thinks so.

All this against a background of enormous delays in payment of bills and claims for interim fees and disbursements.

One can only take the view that the government has already determined to destroy the legal aid scheme, and is perhaps of the opinion that if the LSC becomes completely discredited it will be easier to scrap legal aid completely.

The situation is intolerable.

Gerald A Cumming, Cumming & Riley, Grays, Essex