Access to Justice

The Committee sought written evidence with particular reference to the following questions:

• What impact will the proposed changes have on the number and quality of practitioners, in all areas of law, who offer services funded by legal aid?
• The Government predicts that there will be 500,00 fewer cases in the civil courts as a result of its proposed reforms. Which cases will these be and how will the issues they involve be resolved?
• What action could the Government be taking on legal aid that is not included in the proposals (for example, on Very High Cost Cases)? 
• Do the proposals to implement the Jackson report recommendations on civil court funding and costs adequately reflect the contents of that report?
• What are the implications of the Government’s proposals? The Committee now intends to extend this inquiry, and will be taking oral evidence on it in February (witnesses to be confirmed).

The Committee is grateful to those individuals and organisations from whom written evidence has already been received. There is no need to resubmit that evidence.

However, supplementary evidence is welcome, as is evidence from individuals and organisations who were unable to respond to the earlier call for evidence.

Please ensure your evidence is submitted to the Committee by Monday 24 January 2011.

Submissions must address the questions above. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000 words.

 Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary. View guidance on the submission of evidence to Select Committees.

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee.

Please bear in mind that the Justice Committee is not able to investigate individual cases.

The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail.

You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Further Information 

• Visiting Parliament: Watch Committees
• About Parliament: Select Committees