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Future of Legal Aid to be discussed at LSBU
Politicians, lawyers and students committed to publicly-funded legal advice come together at LSBU to debate legal aid in the wake of "savage cuts"Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) are celebrating their 10th anniversary with an event on Thursday 23 April at LSBU. Key on the agenda will be government cuts in the legal aid budget by over £300m per year, which YLAL say reduce the ability of ordinary people to enforce their rights in court and undermine the rule of law.
YLAL founder Laura Janes will speak about the achievements of the group over the last decade, before Baroness Patricia Scotland QC - a former Attorney General - delivers the keynote address.
Guardian legal affairs correspondent Owen Bowcott will then compere a panel debate on access to justice featuring Andy Slaughter (Labour), Jenny Jones (Green Party), Geoffrey Payne (Liberal Democrats), Martha Spurrier (Doughty Street Chambers) and others.
Andy Unger of LSBU's School of Law and Social Sciences, said: "Access to justice in the UK has been underpinned by what has - until recently - been an effective legal aid system which has been damaged by these savage cuts. London South Bank University has supported YLAL since the beginning by hosting their events because we support their values and believe that the provision of good quality publicly funded legal help is essential to protecting the interests of the vulnerable in society."