Clause 115 of this Bill, which Bill is on its final stages through Parliament, will abolish Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessments which Gypsy and Traveller groups, CLP and others predict will mean that there will be even less chance of provision of sites for Gypsies and Travellers.
T – Minus 312 Hours
In 2013, I attended a Legal Aid Practitioners Group Conference in Manchester where CCMS was one of the main subjects up for discussion. The panel of assorted senior LAA officers told us about the CCMS pilot project. I listened and took it in. A modern way of making applications? Well, it probably could be more convenient and more efficient I thought. The LAA accepted then that there were a number of issues with the system, but were confident that they could be resolved. The message was very clear: “This is a major project…we’re committed to this…we’re spending lots of money on it…and it will become mandatory, so prepare yourselves.”
Computer Says No
The Legal Aid Agency (“the LAA”) announced some time ago that it would be introducing a Client & Costs Management System (“CCMS”) by which practitioners would make applications for legal aid online as a replacement for the current system of paper application forms. Following a pilot scheme in the North East starting Autumn 2012, the system was rolled out nationally. CLP began to use the system in late 2014 to give ourselves 10 or so months to prepare for the date of mandatory use being October 2015.
Reducing Cost and Conflict around Unauthorised Traveller Encampments – Challenges & Opportunities
This Conference organised by Leeds Gypsy and Traveller exchange took place at the offices of the Traveller Movement in London on 25 February 2016.
Corbyn calls for Review of Civil Legal Aid
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, has stated: “Legal aid has been referred to as the forgotten pillar of the welfare state. It is time to challenge that perception. The principles of access to justice and human rights for all is precisely for what Labour stands.” He has set up a Commission to review the disastrous chages to civil legal aid. See the No Mad Laws Website at:-
http://www.nomadlaws.co.uk/news/77-corbyn-calls-for-review-of-civil-legal-aid.
Impact of Insecure Accommodation and the Living Environment on Gypsies’ and Travellers’ Health
This important report commissioned by the National Inclusion Health Board of the Department of Health and written by the Traveller Movement and Bucks New University has just been published. It provides an important up to date position on this subject. Here are some useful extracts from the report:
Labour Party Inquiry into Legal Aid
Lord Bach, former Legal Aid Minister in the last Labour Government, has set up a Commission to look into Legal Aid on behalf of the Labour Party.
Security of Tenure for Council Tenants
The Housing and Planning Bill which is going through Parliament includes provisions to vastly reduce security of tenure for council tenants. These provisions are discussed on the Nearly Legal Housing Law website at:-
http://nearlylegal.co.uk/2015/12/law-unintended-consequences-everyone-needs-housing-lawyer/
Criminal Legal Aid U Turn
Plans to slash the number of law firms allowed to do criminal legal aid work at police stations and magistrates’ courts have been dropped, while an 8.75% cut to legal aid fees criminal lawyers earn has been suspended for a year.
Residence Test for Legal Aid found lawful by Court of Appeal
In September 2013 the Lord Chancellor proposed bringing in a residence test with regard to the provision of Legal Aid. The proposal involved an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPOA) 2012 by means of a statutory instrument. Public Law Project (PLP) took a challenge to this proposal on the basis that it was outside the aims of LASPOA 2012 and that it was discriminatory. Before the High Court PLP were successful. The Lord Chancellor appealed to the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal allowed this appeal.