‘The demise of Legal Aid’? Access to justice and social welfare law after austerity

Newman, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3735-1026 and Robins, Jon 2022. ‘The demise of Legal Aid’? Access to justice and social welfare law after austerity. Amicus Curiae 3 (3) , pp. 448-441. 10.14296/ac.v3i3.5436

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Abstract

Access to justice in England and Wales has been undermined by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. These cuts to legal aid came as part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government’s austerity programme and they represent part of a deeper legacy of antipathy towards state funding of legal services over recent decades. This socio-legal paper draws on interviews across four case studies with those on the frontline of the legal aid sector to draw out the implications of the LASPO cuts, and the wider disdain of successive governments for legal aid, for social welfare law. Vulnerability theory is used to highlight the importance of the legal aid scheme and the threat posed by the cuts. The paper makes an argument that access to justice is a cause that needs to be championed for the good of all in society.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff Law & Politics
ISSN:	2048-481X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 June 2022
Date of Acceptance:	10 May 2022
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2024 13:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/150931

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