‘At a time when we know there has been considerable escalation in domestic abuse cases, this reduction raises questions regarding the barrier to legal aid that the “domestic violence gateway” requirements represent and we continue to call on government to allow solicitors to certify that a person is a victim of abuse for the purposes of obtaining legal aid,’ she said.
The statistics, published last week, also recorded a 7% drop in applications for exceptional case funding and a 33% fall in housing work, compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
Boyce said: ‘For the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), there were only 461 cases compared to 7,740 in the same quarter for the previous year.
‘This reflects the government policy of suspending possession claims, which we support, but which demonstrates the considerable financial pressure that is being placed on the legal aid housing provider base due to the reduction in cashflow. We continue to call on government to provide additional financial support to ensure the provider base does not collapse.
‘We are also concerned by the continued decrease in exceptional case funding applications―this suggests the pandemic has increased the challenge in making these applications.’
Meanwhile, lawyers and interested parties are invited to respond to the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid’s call for evidence before 7 May.
Sir Christopher Bellamy, Chair of the Review, wants to hear how the system as a whole can be improved and placed on a sustainable footing for the future. Submit responses to the review online at bit.ly/3fqtwNK or by email to iclar@justice.gov.uk.
