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There is no question that people have been, and are, are facing more and more problems requiring legal advice and assistance on a daily basis and this is likely to continue. However, the deprivation of access to legal advice for the majority is as much a part of government policy in relation to "austerity" as the curtailment of civil liberties, rights of organisation and the increase of criminal offences. The situationis not helped by the absurdly restrictive requirements on practising which apply to the small practice as much as to the magic circle firms. The people need to be able to have free and available access to legal advice from those who are prepared to provide it at reasonable cost. Assuming that the government is not enthusiastic about providing the necessary financial support then the regulation of private practices should be revised to remove or reduce the overheads in relation to PII, accounting requirements practice models and Practising Certificates. These are the restrictions that need to be addressed, not so much the basis upon which people qualify.