Legal Services Consumer Panel chair Sarah Chambers has raised concerns over “a growing landscape of ‘advice deserts’” post Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). In a blog published on 14 February, Chambers called on regulators and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to address the apparent shortfall of practitioners qualified in housing, debt, social security benefits, family, employment, and immigration by reviewing the education and training of the upcoming legal generation.
Following an MoJ review of changes to legal aid following the LASPO, Chambers wrote: “It is not a great leap to recognise that there is a causal link between major drops in legal aid funded casework, absen...
