UK legal aid reforms to save less than predicted
The Government will save less than half of the £270 million it predicts
through the proposed reforms to legal aid, and planned cuts will
actually result in additional costs for the taxpaper by shifting the
burden on to other areas of the public purse, according to a report
published today by King’s College London.
In his report, Unintended Consequences: the cost of the Government’s
Legal Aid Reforms, Dr. Graham Cookson, from the Department of
Management analysed the intended changes to family, social welfare and
clinical negligence law, which together account for 85 percent of
current civil legal aid expenditure.
Dr. Cookson identified knock-on costs of £139 million per annum meaning
the Government will realise approximately 42 per cent of the predicted
savings. These unintended costs will largely be borne by other
government departments including a predicted £28 million being
shouldered by the NHS each year.
Dr. Cookson said: "This research undermines the Government's economic
rationale for changing the scope of legal aid by casting doubt on its
claims of realising savings to the public purse.
"Without a trial, it is impossible to say for certain what the impact
of the proposals will be, just as it is impossible for the Government
to assert that there will be a net saving of £270 million per annum.
However, my research suggests that the net savings could be half of
those predicted in the Government's forecast."
In substantially reducing the scope of legal aid in three main areas
alone: family law, social welfare and clinical negligence, the Ministry
of Justice expected to make savings of £240 million. Dr. Cookson’s
report estimates the costs, to this and other government departments,
to exceed £139 million – which would eliminate almost 60 percent of the
claimed savings
