{"id":2768,"date":"2025-07-27T15:31:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/?p=2768"},"modified":"2025-08-09T22:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T21:24:11","slug":"justice-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/2768","title":{"rendered":"Justice Inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Justice For All?<\/h2><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Unpacking Westminster\u2019s Access to Justice Inquiry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House of Commons Justice Committee has launched a landmark inquiry into the state of access to justice in England and Wales; this is a move that could reshape how legal support is funded, delivered, and understood across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is the inquiry about?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The inquiry explores whether the justice system is serving the people who need it most. It asks:
Is legal support accessible for ordinary people?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>How has the reduction in legal aid affected outcomes?<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>What roles should digital serves play in bridging the gap?<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>How are litigants in person (people without lawyers) coping?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Legal Aid Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cuts to legal aid since LASPO (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) left vulnerable groups struggling to resolve housing, family, and welfare issues. Solicitors have reported that even basic advice is now out of reach for many. This has led to a dramatic increase in unrepresented parties in court, which raises concerns about fairness and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise of Litigants in Person<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve written about this in a blog before. It\u2019s clear that without proper legal guidance, individuals navigating family disputes, eviction cases, or welfare claims will face daunting paperwork, some will find it impossible to sufficiently understand the processes, and yet they have to cope with tight deadlines for responses and a lot of unfamiliar jargon. Judges are tasked with balancing empathy and impartiality, whilst the system itself buckles under the strain of longer hearings and procedural delays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Innovation or Inequality?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has leaned heavily on technology to fill the gap, creating online portals, chatbots, and virtual hearings. But critics argue these solutions can reinforce barriers:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Limited digital literacy: not everyone is able to access online systems efficiently<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Language and accessibility challenges: online implies understanding of English and the ability to read at the required level<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Risk of automated advice without nuance: this is one of the worst aspects, as people often ask questions for which they want the answer to (as in, the question is designed to try to get the answer they want, rather than the answer they need). Automated advice has no way of determining if this is happening, whereas a lawyer can spot these issues and adjust accordingly.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even so, there is still some promise in AI-powered support if used property, remote legal clinics, and hybrid service models that combine face-to-face assistance with digital tools (such as those No.53 Legal has been using for the last 10 years and which you can find on our site, e.g. ask a question<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Committee is calling for evidence from legal professionals, community organisations, and the public. Key outcomes could include:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Reforms to legal aid eligibility (but is the government likely to reverse LASPO?)<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Investment in early intervention advice (this was already supposed to have been done)<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Clearer support for litigants in person (another thing allegedly already done)<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Accountability for tech-enabled justice tools<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why it matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice isn’t just about courtrooms, it\u2019s about resolving disputes, protecting rights, and offering clarity in times of legal dispute distress. Whether people are facing eviction, escaping abuse, or challenging benefit cuts, access to legal support can be life-altering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This inquiry has the potential to mark a turning point towards a more inclusive justice system. But let\u2019s not hold our breath whilst we\u2019re waiting.
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Harriet M, Consultant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justice For All? Unpacking Westminster\u2019s Access to Justice Inquiry The House of Commons Justice Committee has launched a landmark inquiry into the state of access to justice in England and Wales; this is a move that could reshape how legal support is funded, delivered, and understood across the country. What is the inquiry about? The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"zakra_page_container_layout":"customizer","zakra_page_sidebar_layout":"customizer","zakra_remove_content_margin":false,"zakra_sidebar":"customizer","zakra_transparent_header":"customizer","zakra_logo":0,"zakra_main_header_style":"default","zakra_menu_item_color":"","zakra_menu_item_hover_color":"","zakra_menu_item_active_color":"","zakra_menu_active_style":"","zakra_page_header":true,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lea_NSW","author_link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/author\/admin"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Justice For All? Unpacking Westminster\u2019s Access to Justice Inquiry The House of Commons Justice Committee has launched a landmark inquiry into the state of access to justice in England and Wales; this is a move that could reshape how legal support is funded, delivered, and understood across the country. What is the inquiry about? The…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2768"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2816,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768\/revisions\/2816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}