The Legal Aid Agency's Online System

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General – in the Senedd at 2:28 pm on 28 November 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 2:28, 28 November 2018

I thank you for that answer, Counsel General. I ask the question because I've read some very concerning reports detailing how glitches within the system are forcing victims of domestic abuse to attend court on their own. Essentially, the Legal Aid Agency’s client and cost management system is crashing, so solicitors are unable to complete the necessary paperwork to attend hearings alongside their clients. And we do already know that savage cuts to legal aid are one of the many ways that austerity has disproportionately hit women. We know that hundreds of thousands of people are no longer eligible for legal aid, including victims of domestic abuse, who cannot secure injunctions to protect themselves from harm because they can't afford to pay the contributions. So, I will ask, if you haven't already done so, that you make urgent representations to the Ministry of Justice and that they act to fix this issue on behalf of the victims that they and their system are badly letting down.