Legal aid reforms may leave welfare, employment and health disputes unresolved and actually increase the demand for court and tribunal hearings

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill currently before parliament is intended, in part, to reduce demand for ‘costly litigation’ in key areas of civil law. However, recent research suggests that aspects of the Bill may actually work against this aim. Laura Bradley warns the Ministry of Justice to seriously consider the risk that some of the most controversial reforms may in fact increase demand for court and tribunal hearings, and reduce the chance that people’s everyday civil legal disputes end with agreement being reached.