Clients of award-winning South Devon law firm Wollen Michelmore have been expressing concern about changes to Legal Aid which were introduced last month.
From April 1 2013, Legal Aid is being administered by the new Legal Aid Agency which will use tougher criteria in order to allocate the financial support.
Previously, in divorce cases, Legal Aid was available to those who met the financial criteria. However, according to the new criteria this can only be funded if there is evidence of domestic violence.
Rebecca Proctor, head of Wollen Michelmore’s family law department, said: “Our firm has a long-standing commitment to Legal Aid and has been offering it for over 15 years. A number of our clients have understandably expressed alarm at the changes and we want to reassure people that Legal Aid will still be available with our work.
“Many cases that would have been granted Legal Aid previously will still be granted Legal Aid now. There is no change to the availability of Legal Aid for injunction cases, forced marriage or child abduction. There is no change to the availability of Legal Aid for cases where the Local Authority is involved with a client’s children in their care. We would urge anyone in the South Devon area who has concerns to come and see us and we will do all we can to assist them in obtaining Legal Aid.”
The changes mainly centre around private law disputes, for example, when parents disagree what’s best for the child, or where there are disputes about financial issues. In other areas of law outside family law, advice on some employment and education issues, personal injury and clinical negligence cases, immigration and debt and housing problems will all be affected.
The Government says it is making the changes to the current £2bn a year system ensure taxpayers’ money is not spent on resolving cases in court when there are quicker and cheaper options.
