Supply of civil legal aid and advice and assistance 2007-2008
We have used the Board’s data on applications for civil legal aid and grants of civil advice and assistance (including assistance by way of representation – ABWOR) to develop our understanding of how solicitors provide civil legal assistance and to identify areas that may pose access to justice concerns.
Our analysis compared applicant addresses with outlet location (firms or firm branches making at least one application or grant in any given year), breaking down the data to different areas of law, allowing comparison between areas and over time.
The information here represents the best data currently available to identify areas where there may be access to justice issues, but it does not directly lead to information about the level of unmet need for legal advice. The main limitation of the data is that it is difficult to distinguish between a situation where there is a lack of supply because there is no advice need; and circumstances where low levels of applications are caused by the lack of supply.
The latest data analysed here is for financial year 2007/08. We will analyse information from 2008/09 as soon as this is available to give a more up-to-date picture. We know from internal monitoring that there is an increase at the national level in the overall volume of civil legal aid applications and civil advice and assistance grants. It is likely that this is, at least in part, a result of the economic downturn. An updated picture at the local level will be available shortly following collation of the 2008/09 figures. (Click here for 2008/09 report.)
More information from and about the project is available from John Osborne.
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