Family legal aid set to suffer?

Solicitor’s firms are licking their wounds after receiving the results of the family legal aid bid round, with lawyers warnings of advice deserts and widespread redundancies.

A survey by family law group Resolution of 561 firms revealed that 40% have been wholly unsuccessful in their competitive tendering bids to provide family legal aid, while 15% were only partially successful. The firms said they expect to have to make up to 542 redundancies.

The survey results suggest people in need of help could in the future fail to find a legal adviser. Family lawyers expressed concerns that domestic abuse victims in need of emergency legal aid and those in need of specialist legal advice on issues such as forced marriage could struggle to find help.

Practitioners warned of emerging “advice deserts” in Dorset, Cornwall, Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire. Cornwall now has only five family legal aid providers operating from 11 offices in the county.

David Allison, chair of Resolution, said: “Our survey has painted a very worrying picture for the future of legal aid provision in England and Wales.
“We have pressed the Legal Services Commission for a full picture of the contracts awarded but this will not be published until the appeals process ends. Our survey tells us that 86% of those who were unsuccessful will be appealing and it is clear that the complete picture is unlikely to emerge until very shortly before the contracts start on 14 October.”

He added: “There are signs already of movement in the market, with mergers, acquisitions and movement of staff, but it remains to be seen whether the market can fully adjust quickly enough.

“While we knew that competitive tendering was coming, delays in the award of contracts has left firms little time to open new offices, make people redundant or plan recruitments.”

Resolution has called on the government for an urgent statement of the practical steps they will take to remedy the shortfall.