Speaking in Tuesday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Shadow Social Justice Minister and North Wales MS Mark Isherwood highlighted the actions being taken by the UK Government and UK Parliament to ensure access to justice, and was disappointed that the Counsel General for Wales refused to recognise these.
Responding to the Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution on ‘Legal Aid and Access to Justice’, Mr Isherwood spoke of the billions spent on legal aid, which aims to help those who cannot afford legal costs to have the justice process available regardless of their income, the reduction of court backlogs, and the extension of 32 Crown Nightingale courtrooms until April 2022, to hold as many hearings as possible in response to coronavirus.
He said:
“Does the Counsel General acknowledge that last year the UK Government spent over £1.7bn on legal aid; that they announced £51 million more for the legal aid sector last year, supporting legal professionals; that they invested a quarter of a billion pounds to keep justice moving and support recovery during the pandemic in the last financial year, including over £50m for victims and support services; and that the Chancellor’s Spending Review also provides an extra £477m for the criminal justice system to meet the increased demand from additional police officers and to recover performance following the pandemic?
“As a point of fact, does the Counsel General also acknowledge that the court backlog was lower under the current UK Government, just before the start of the pandemic, than it was in the last year of the UK Labour Government, and therefore helping making Justice more accessible?
“In terms of access to justice, does he welcome the reduction in the number of outstanding cases in magistrates’ courts by around 80,000 since its peak in July 2020, that levels of outstanding cases in the Crown Courts are stabilising and that thousands of cases are being listed each week?
“Last July, the House of Commons Justice Committee report on ‘The Future of Legal Aid’ identified ‘a real need for a more flexible scheme that allows anyone with a legal problem, who cannot afford a lawyer, to access early legal advice’. The UK Government was due to respond to this report and other related reviews including its ‘Legal Aid Means Test Review’ as part of its broader Legal Support Action Plan, by the end of 2021. What engagement have you had with the UK Government regarding these matters and the consultation which will follow?”
Mr Isherwood also asked the Counsel General what consideration he has given to the announcement by the UK Government on Monday of additional funding into the Family Mediation Scheme to help thousands more families avoid the Court room.
Speaking outside the meeting, he added:
"It is matter of great concern that in his response, the Counsel General completely sidestepped the actions regarding legal aid being taken by both the current UK Government and the current UK Parliament I outlined, in order to suit both his false narrative that Westminster was ignoring this and his Government's determination to instead wallow in the past."