Cuts to legal aid are a false economy that cost the public purse more in the long term, new research shows

The consensus that the government’s legal aid cuts are a false economy has been further strengthened by new research released by Ipsos MORI.

The independent research organisation’s findings show a clear statistical link between receiving early legal advice and problems being resolved sooner. This further proves that the government’s policy of denying the least well off access to legal advice in the name of saving money is actually increasing the cost to taxpayers in the long run, by dragging out problems until they become far worse and more costly to resolve than they were originally. The Law Gazette illustrates the situation by looking at the example of housing law, where a lack of early legal help for minor disrepair matters can lead to health and financial problems. Meanwhile in family law, the inability to access early legal help often leads to cases getting dragged through court, often to the immediate detriment of parties involved such as children.

Following the research, the Law Society has reiterated its call to the government to restore legal aid provision for housing and family cases.

Christina Blacklaws, vice president of the Law Society, commented: “Without early legal advice, relatively minor problems can escalate, creating health, social and financial problems, placing additional pressure and cost on already stretched public services. The current situation is unsustainable. If early advice was available to those who need it, issues could be resolved before they worsen and become more costly for the individual – and the public purse.”