Legal Aid

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is currently being discussed by Parliament. In its current form, the Bill will drastically reduce the scope of civil legal aid. Hundreds of thousands of struggling families could lose their access to affordable justice. Legal aid for separating families will be hardest hit.

Even victims of domestic violence will face an uphill battle to get legal Aid. Parents trying to arrange contact with their children will have to represent themselves in court if their partner refuses to attend mediation. Thousands of children could lose contact with one of their parents or be subjected to unfair financial arrangements that harm their upbringing.

The Bill was published on 21 June 2011. We believe it is a rushed and flawed piece of legislation. We are urging MPs and Peers to prevent legal aid for most family law cases being cut.

  • Download our latest briefing on the Bill here

What is Resolution doing?

We are determined to persuade the Government of the urgent need to review these proposals and ensure that legal aid genuinely does provide access to justice for the vulnerable. Our activities include:

  • Communicating our concerns and recommendations to MPs and Peers from all parties through robust briefings
  • Urging Parliamentarians to make crucial amendments to the Bill, so that the poorest and most vulnerable in society are not stripped of affordable justice
  • Discussing our concerns with MPs and officials
  • Working with other legal respresentative bodies to combine our efforts against the cuts
  • Signing up to the Justice for All campaign
  • This briefing has been produced by Resolution, together with Gingerbread, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes and Rights of Women, to highlight some of the problems with removing legal aid from private family law cases.

We will update this section with future activities as the campaign progresses.

What can I do?

Whether you're a family lawyer or have experience of using the family legal aid system, it is essential that you make your voice heard about how these proposals will impact you. Here's what you can do:

  • If you are a Resolution member use our online form form to send us your case studies
  • Sign up to the Sound Off For Justice campaign
  • Sign up to the Justice for All campaign

    • Write to your MP, expressing your concern at the cuts to family legal aid.

Useful links