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News

MPs consider viability of legal aid cuts

updated on 14 June 2013

The president of the Law Society, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, has given evidence to the Justice Select Committee of MPs setting out the disastrous consequences that would result from the government's plans to further cut legal aid.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Scott-Moncrieff criticised the economic viability of proposals to introduce price competitive tendering, which would base legal aid provision on low costs rather than quality and deny legal aid recipients any choice regarding their solicitors. The removal of client choice would also remove competitive incentives for lawyers to provide their clients with a high-quality service, Scott-Moncrieff argued.

Scott-Moncrieff also pointed out that the average legal aid lawyer earns £25,000 a year in an attempt to dispel the unjustified stereotype that legal aid lawyers are 'fat cats' - a view which has widely been spread by "gutter press" tabloids such as the Daily Mail.

The Justice Select Committee is currently considering Scott-Moncrieff's evidence, along with a number of other oral and written submissions from the Law Society and other legal representative bodies.