"Unintended Consequences": Legal Aid report

Research undertaken by Dr Graham Cookson from the Department of Management has found that the legal aid changes proposed in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will save less than half of the £270 million predicted by the Government.
 
The report commissioned by The Law Society of England and Wales analysed the proposed changes to family, social welfare and clinical negligence law, which together account for 85 percent of current civil legal aid expenditure.
 
It identified knock-on costs of £139 million per annum meaning the Government will realise approximately 42 percent of the predicted savings. These unintended costs will largely be bourn by other government departments including a predicted £28 million being shouldered by the NHS each year.
 
The final report, Unintended Consequences: the cost of the Government’s Legal Aid Reforms is now available. A research summary and factsheet are also available.