Legal aid fillip for millions

The Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD) has announced new standardised eligibility limits for legal aid, which will qualify around five million extra people for free preliminary advice.

The changes, which follow an LCD consultation, will feature a single means test for legal help and full representation, putting the payment levels at almost the same level.A new gross income cap of 24,000 has been set for all services, with the previous capital limit of 3,000 increased to 8,000.The LCD also plans another review, which could see a further two million people qualify.Richard Miller, director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, said the changes were 'very welcome and long overdue'.

Pressure would be taken off practitioners by the deferral of the test until October, he added.

A Law Society spokeswoman said: 'These are important steps in the right direction but we are still far from ensuring good access to justice for everyone.' The announcement comes in the same week that the Legal Services Commission (LSC) published its first annual report.

The report indicated a decrease in the number of civil contracts awarded from 10,478 on the previous year, to 9,746.

The largest drop was in personal injury contracts, which fell from 2,333 to 1,888.The LSC made payments worth 450.4 million for criminal cases, the report said, with a near doubling of claims as a result of the Narey proposals.

These provide for speedier hearings for defendants intending to plead guilty in summary proceedings.LSC chief executive Steve Orchard said that the last year signified 'a good start'.

Meanwhile, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, announced last week that he will amend the criteria used to assess exceptional applications for funding, following last month's Jarrett case against the LCD and the LSC (see [2001] Gazette, 21 June, 3).Paula Rohan