Keep Calm and Carry On
This morning the cat was put amongst the pigeons by an article in The Times dealing with the plans that Liz Truss will inherit from Michael Gove now she has taken up the reins in the Ministry of Justice. The full text of the article can be found here for those who don’t subscribe, but the worrying passage was:
“Next week she will have to sign off plans for an overhaul of the courts but whether that timetable will be met is in doubt. These included plans to cut the number of law firms awarded contracts to provide police station advice and to introduce a second round of cuts to legal aid fees.”
Bearing in mind all of the recent talk has been of constructive dialogue between the professional bodies and the Ministry of Justice the article would appear to be suggesting that new plans were afoot very similar to those that were abandoned earlier in the year. Perhaps they sounded too familiar?
Fortunately, clarity was to be found in The Brief which complements The Times’ legal content. The link to the full content is here, but this time the update makes it clear that the reduction in providers in combination with legal aid reductions was the brainchild of then Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling. They were one of several initiatives scrapped by Michael Gove during his tenure in post.
So, early morning panic averted, although we wait with baited breath to see what is put forward by the Ministry of Justice as the year goes on.
