For 60 years today, legal aid has been helping people in financial difficulty access legal services.<\/p>\n
On July 30th 1947, the Legal Aid and Advice Act created the scheme.<\/p>\n
Now in its sixtieth year, more than two million people in England and Wales use the service each year to get help with their legal problems.<\/p>\n
The scheme is run by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) with a \u00a32 billion a year budget provided by the Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n
More than a quarter of a million people involved in family disputes use legal aid to help resolve their problems and settle childcare disputes.<\/p>\n
Minister for Legal Aid Lord Willy Bach said, “Legal aid is a vital service that helps people in times of real need, which is why we remain committed to ensuring it is available to all those who need it most. On its 60th anniversary, legal aid continues to help more than 2 million people each year.<\/p>\n
“The Government is committed to ensuring that for the long-term, legal aid expenditure is sustainable, and that those vulnerable people most in need get the right help at a cost that is fair to practitioners and fair to the taxpayer.”<\/p>\n
Recent additions introduced by the LSC, include the Community Legal Advice helpline and website, acting as a support system for advice on debt, housing, benefits and family matters.<\/p>\n
Phone 0845 345 4 345 or visit: www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For 60 years today, legal aid has been helping people in financial difficulty access legal services. On July 30th 1947,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n