Post by jman on May 23, 2011 12:13:57 GMT 1
Article on the "This is money" site on how legal aid cuts will affect home owners taking people outside the scope of help with their legal problems
"Legal aid may be removed for anyone with £200k home
By James Allen
20 May 2011, 3:58pm
Changes to the legal aid system mean owners of homes valued at £200k or more could lose financial assistance and be forced to fund their own legal battles.
Legal costs: Changes would exclude homeowners.
Proposals in a bill currently being debated in the House of Lords would result in many homeowners, no matter what their other financial circumstances, being unable to claim the free legal support in cases of medical negligence, employment or divorce.
The plans being considered are designed to encourage informal resolutions away from the courts, with the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke intending aid to be routinely available only in more serious cases where life or freedom could be lost.
The intention is to reduce the £2bn legal aid bill by £350m before 2015.
The Law Society, who represents solicitors in England and Wales, is concerned as to the implications of the bill, should it be passed in its current form.
In a statement released by the group, they said: 'Those who own a home worth over £200,000 will be ineligible for legal aid, even if they have no other disposable capital.'
The change would hit areas with high property values, such as London, the hardest. According to figures from the Land Registry of England and Wales, the average house price in London for the final quarter of 2010 was £408,534.
But with the average house price currently at around £160,000, a threshold of £200,000 would exclude huge numbers from legal aid.
A bill is to be published by the Government in early June, once the debating stage is complete, though plans to reduce the legal aid budget had also been indicated by Labour previously."
www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=534277&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories
"Legal aid may be removed for anyone with £200k home
By James Allen
20 May 2011, 3:58pm
Changes to the legal aid system mean owners of homes valued at £200k or more could lose financial assistance and be forced to fund their own legal battles.
Legal costs: Changes would exclude homeowners.
Proposals in a bill currently being debated in the House of Lords would result in many homeowners, no matter what their other financial circumstances, being unable to claim the free legal support in cases of medical negligence, employment or divorce.
The plans being considered are designed to encourage informal resolutions away from the courts, with the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke intending aid to be routinely available only in more serious cases where life or freedom could be lost.
The intention is to reduce the £2bn legal aid bill by £350m before 2015.
The Law Society, who represents solicitors in England and Wales, is concerned as to the implications of the bill, should it be passed in its current form.
In a statement released by the group, they said: 'Those who own a home worth over £200,000 will be ineligible for legal aid, even if they have no other disposable capital.'
The change would hit areas with high property values, such as London, the hardest. According to figures from the Land Registry of England and Wales, the average house price in London for the final quarter of 2010 was £408,534.
But with the average house price currently at around £160,000, a threshold of £200,000 would exclude huge numbers from legal aid.
A bill is to be published by the Government in early June, once the debating stage is complete, though plans to reduce the legal aid budget had also been indicated by Labour previously."
www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=534277&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories