Ken Clarke determined to stop the most marginalised having access
to justice
18 August 2010
Ken Clarke's plans to cut legal aid funding will have a
devastating impact on some of the most exploited people in our
society says Unite.
Ken Clarke's plan to make cuts to the £2bn legal aid budget year
on year will mean that thousands of people will not be able to
afford to protect themselves. Civil Legal Aid enables people to
take cases against unscrupulous landlords, abusive partners, and
illegal decisions taken against those fleeing oppression back in
their native countries.
When Legal Aid is cut, expertise is lost and community law
centres and CABs are threatened with closure.
We have already seen this Government turn its back on Refugee
and Migrant Justice, the leading national agency that had 10,000
cases on its books, including 900 children, when the Legal Services
Commission, the Government funding quango for legal aid, had
not paid the money it owed the organisation. The government
shut RMJ in just one week.
Legal Aid was established after the war as part of the welfare
state to help ordinary people have the right to justice. The budget
is already insufficient to meet the rising need for advice and acts
of assistance, and its demands are expected to grow. The need for
legal aid has increased since the start of the recession as
families struggle to remain in their homes on limited incomes, or
fall foul to the exploitation of others.
Rachael Maskell, Unite National Officer for the Not for Profit
sector said: "These cuts mean the courts will become a place
for the wealthy, while the vulnerable will have to suffer the
abuses of others, or beg for mercy, with no recourse to the justice
system.
"Britain has a proud history of enabling all to seek justice
against those that exploit them. Today's announcement reinforces
the ConDem vision that the most marginalised are treated with
contempt by this government who would rather see the marginalised
beg for mercy than give them the dignity of proper recourse.
"Unite members who work in CABs, law centres, interpreting
services and the courts are aghast that this government would
destroy our rich heritage of enabling justice which is a
basic human right."
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
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