Bar Council launches ‘LASPO: 5 years on’ survey

Participation of the Family Bar sought

Following the commencement of the Government's Post-Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO and subordinate legislation, the Bar Council is conducting a second survey of the Family and Civil Bar. The survey will inform the Bar Council's response to the review.

In 2014, the Bar Council conducted early research into the effect of LASPO (The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO): One Year On Final Report). A key part of the research was a survey of the Family and Civil Bar. Regrettably, it suggested that much of what the Bar Council had warned about had come to pass, including:

A significant increase in litigants in person, especially in the family courts;
Increased delays in court and additional burdens on already-stretched court resources;
Increased and likely unsustainable pressure on frontline providers offering free legal support, advice or representation;
A growing reluctance of solicitors and barristers to take on complex, low-value litigation, denying many access to legal advice and representation;
A growing number of barristers actively considering the viability of a long-term career at the Bar; and
Concern about the expertise of future practitioners, the impact on the young Bar and on diversity within the profession.

The stated aim of the Government's Post-Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO and subordinate legislation is to "… conduct an evidence-based review to establish the impact of the changes and how this compared with the initial objectives and estimates outlined prior to consultation."

Meetings of the Consultative Groups for each practice area have emphasised the need for evidence collected from outside Government to inform the Review.

As part of its response, the Bar Council is conducting this further survey of the Family and Civil Bar. Answers to it will form a central part of its submissions to Post-Implementation Review.

The questions have been deliberately designed to mirror and develop those asked in the 2014 survey, to enable comparison with that early research and to improve the power of the data gathered.

To take the survey, click here.

19/7/18

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