Legal aid adjustments delayed

There will be no immediate requirement for adjustments to be made to how people seek legal advice, after the Ministry of Justice delayed the implementation of new rules governing civil and family legal aid.

The delay is to allow the Legal Services Commission to tender under the new rules and will see implementation set back from the original October 2012 date to April 2013.

Responding to the decision, the Law Society reiterated previous claims that the original deadline had been impractical.

However, the society's chief executive, Desmond Hudson, explained that the delay will not address aspects of the bill which remain "poorly-evidenced and ill-conceived".

"The bill will not deliver the claimed financial savings and risks denying access to justice to all but the well-off," he noted. "This delay to the implementation schedule offers a window of opportunity to work with stakeholders in improving the bill."

Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke's plans would see around £350 million shaved off the total legal aid budget.

Published by Phil Hammond