AQW 43649/11-15

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 12/03/2015
Answered On Date: 25/03/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice what impact the cuts to legal aid will have on Voluntary Sector Organisations who may now face an increase in clients seeking their services.

Answer:

The impact of the removal of any case types from the scope of Civil Legal Aid will be monitored by my Department on an ongoing basis. In developing final proposals, my officials will discuss the impact with the appropriate sectors and Regulatory Impact Assessments will also be undertaken where appropriate. I anticipate that any increase in workload for the advice sector will be very small.

The agenda setting document for the Access to Justice Review Part II outlined a review of the provision of advice looking at the experience in Northern Ireland and other jurisdictions. It is expected that this review will report by summer 2015 and this will aid the consideration of how funding is provided in this area in the future.