Legal Services Commission accounts refused by NAO

Legal Services Commission accounts have been rejected by the National Audit Office (NAO), after it claimed much of the spending lacked a proper basis for payment.

The NAO suggested overpayments of legal aid more than trebled last year, jumping to £76.5 million, of which £43.6 million was attributed to free legal help providers overclaiming for their work.

If the funds cannot be accounted for the Legal Services Commission may be out of pocket, with the NAO saying the remainder of the sum stems from legal aid clients "whose eligibility could not be demonstrated".

In the past, free legal help has been offered to people with cases of personal injury and medical negligence complaints, but funding cuts have changed the eligibility criteria for state-funded support.

More than one-in-three immigration and family cases examined by the auditing body were found to be questionable, undermined by either mistakes or a lack of evidence for their claim to financial support.

Published by Rose Orlik