From the iLegal (not illegal….) blog last night I read that there will be more news on legal aid today. Fingers crossed for better news. So where it says tomorrow, read it as today!
“There will be a press briefing tomorrow at 1.30pm and the Government will then issue a public statement at 3.30pm
Earlier today, the signals were that this statement was most likely going to focus on three areas:
- concessions from Ken Clarke QC on civil legal aid, most especially a softening of the MoJ position in Family by extending the definition of domestic violence or, dropping the offending reform proposal entirely
- a possible rethink on the abolition of legal aid for medical negligence cases
- a suggestion that Clarke was likely to offer something to MPs across the political spectrum who have been lobbying the MoJ over the closure of CABx, law centres and other advice agencies
However, it now appears that the statement tomorrow will focus entirely on the Jackson Report and will not make any further references to other aspects of legal aid. Of course, the MoJ made a number of apparently conflicting comments to connections today so, things may yet change
The other important thing happening here is the imminent publication of the Justice Committee’s report into the Government proposals to reform legal aid. This was originally to be published tomorrow, but has now been held back until Wednesday. One can only assume, so as to not coincide with the Government statement tomorrow (Tuesday)
Read more:http://ilegal.org.uk/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=2479&page=1#ixzz1Hy2rc3wS
Diana Barran’s blog 
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