'Thousands in Birmingham' to be affected by cuts to legal help

The Law Society has warned that proposed cuts to legal help will have an impact on thousands of people in Birmingham.

According to the society, the plans could see the urban area being one of the worst hit cities in the nation, with over 6,500 of cases set to go to court there at risk of collapsing as a result of the cuts, the Birmingham Mail reported.

The Law Society noted that those who will be the most affected will be people with medical negligence claims, parents fighting for custody of their offspring and those with cases against their employees.

"Justice will become only available to the wealthy, with the poor being the worst hit. Many will face a dilemma between plunging themselves into debt to try and fund their battle, going unrepresented in court, or giving up their fight for justice altogether." Richard Miller, head of legal aid at the Law Society, said.

This year Jenny Beck, co-chair of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and a managing partner at a law firm, also told the Hackney Citizen that people in this area may find that the proposed cuts to the legal aid budget negatively affect them.

Published by Hannah Carr