Legal aid providers team up to fight cuts

Hackney legal aid providers fight proposed governemnt cuts

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Legal aid providers in Hackney are teaming up to try and save their service from proposed government cuts.

The campaign kicked off with a public meeting last night (January 31) at Hackney Town Hall, organised by the Hackney Community Law Centre.

The guest speaker will be Liz Davies, Hackney-based housing barrister who will outline the effects these cuts will have on the boroughs poorest residents

Under the governments proposal, legal advice agencies in the borough would lose 77 per cent of funding.

In addition, legal aid would no longer be available for divorce, employment, criminal injuries compensation and most housing and some immigration cases.

Participants at the meeting will be asked to lobby MPs and respond to the government’s consultation on the cuts, which ends on February 14.

Chair of the HCLC, Cllr Ian Rathbone, said: “The cuts will impact much more on Hackney than richer boroughs as large numbers of our residents need support services from the council, claim welfare benefits or are about to lose their jobs. Legal aid clients are amongst the most vulnerable in society and these reforms will undermine access to justice and the rule of law.”