Andrew Selous, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, has apologised to the House of Commons on behalf of the Ministry of Justice for understating the level of prison overcrowding each year since 2008-09. More worrying still, Mr Selous continues…
Blog Archives
Solicitors: ‘miscarriages of justice will happen’, if further legal aid cuts go ahead
Solicitors have said that further cuts to the legal aid budget will lead to miscarriages of justice, the Independent newspaper reported yesterday (June 10). The government has decided to press ahead with plans to reduce legal aid solicitors remuneration fees…
Posted in News
US business services giant set to land justice fines contract
Guest blog by James Davies, Campaigns Officer, PCS As the Ministry of Justice looks set to outsource yet more of its work, PCS is calling for a major rethink on a privatisation that will threaten a major cornerstone of our…
Posted in News
Speak up for Justice hold fringe at PCS conference
Speak up for Justice held a well-attended, informative fringe at PCS’ annual conference this year in May, at which speakers and delegates discussed the impact of government policies and spending cuts on the justice system, as well on access to…
Posted in News
Barristers vote in favour of direct action against government legal aid cuts
An overwhelming 96 per cent of the membership of the Criminal Barrister’s Association (CBA) today voted in favour of direct action against the government’s legal aid reforms, following a CBA membership survey. Thirty-five per cent of CBA’s membership responded to…
Posted in News
Lawyers consider further action against unjust legal aid cuts
Lawyers fear that further cuts to criminal legal aid under the new Conservative government will lead to a dramatic decline in the quality of legal representation as well as to miscarriages of justice. The Guardian reported last week that the…
UNISON report reveals cost of austerity for councils, communities and police forces
UNISON’s new report Austerity Audit reveals the extent of the damage done to council services in England since 2010,and the people that provide them, as well to police forces. The report provides further evidence that by imposing swingeing cuts to…
Posted in News
Rise in assaults and self-harm in prisons, new Ministry of Justice statistics reveal
New Ministry of Justice statistics reveal that in the year up to December 2014 incidents of self-harm and assaults in prisons have increased significantly, revealing a system under serious strain where safety standards have plummeted. Most astonishing is the 35…
Evidence shows legal aid reforms led to huge rise in self-representation and increased costs to the taxpayer
“The available evidence indicates that the proportion of litigants appearing before the civil and family courts without legal representation…has increased since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) took many civil and private law children and…
Justice Committee Inquiry finds government reforms have reduced safety and performance of prisons
The Justice Committee recently concluded their first major inquiry on prisons planning and policies in this last parliament, focusing on measures the Ministry of Justice has used to reduce the ‘operational costs’ of the system. The inquiry report reveals the…
Posted in News
