Jon Robins reports on the latest clashes surrounding the LASPO cutbacks
When Margaret Hodge, as chair of the House of Commons public accounts committee, grilled Google executives, she famously quoted its corporate motto “Don’t be evil” before reflecting “I think that you do do evil”. There was an echo of that bruising encounter when her committee hauled senior Ministry of Justice (MoJ) executives over the coals last week.
Margaret Hodge asked Catherine Lee, director of access to justice at the MoJ, whether her job was “about facilitating or inhibiting access to justice”? The session began badly for the MoJ before going rapidly downhill.
Their interrogation followed on from last month’s National Audit Office (NAO) report (Implementing reforms to civil legal aid). It accused ministers of not “thinking through enough” the impact of the LASPO cuts, nor, it was argued, did they sufficiently understand whether those still eligible for legal aid could actually find help. As a consequence, the spending watchdog argued that £300m worth of legal aid cuts could not be said to have “delivered better overall value for money for the taxpayer”.
