Report commissioned by Access to Justice Foundation and Bar Council says funding early advice saves time and money in the long term
A report published last week by the charitable Access to Justice Foundation in partnership with the Bar Council finds that providing free early access to specialist legal advice would save significant public sector costs further down the line.
You can download the 89-page report here. It was authored by the research consultancy Pragmatix Advisory and it covers all areas of law, including immigration and asylum.
The report describes how the provision of funding for free specialist legal advice would be a financially sound decision for the Government, potentially saving the Treasury £11.2 billion over the next ten years.
It states: "In 2023, the provision of free specialist legal advice saved the Treasury approximately £9,100 per case. For the estimated ½ million people receiving free legal advice, this equates to a saving of around £4.5 billion in the first year. This means that for every £1 spent on free specialist legal advice and its outcomes in 2023, there was a saving to government of £2.71."
Free legal advice would also help to ease pressure on courts and tribunals through improved efficiency and fewer litigants in person.
"Early intervention saves time and money in the long term by addressing issues before they escalate, becoming more complex, harder to resolve, and causing additional stress for clients. This proactive approach not only alleviates the burden on the judicial system, but promotes better outcomes for individuals, preventing smaller problems turning into a lengthy legal process," the report explains.
As the report highlights, individuals and families in need of specialist legal advice services often present with multiple issues and often only access advice at a point of crisis. Some issues often cluster together, includes immigration, welfare, and housing issues.
The report says with regard to immigration: "Many of the organisations we spoke with told us that a lot of their immigration cases intersect several other areas of law including housing and debt. For those individuals in need of advice who have poor English, a lack of legal advice and representation can be detrimental to them and to the progress of their case. If they cannot access support, they may be unable to complete paperwork, or act effectively as a litigant in person. This can lead to delays and inefficiencies within the court system that could be prevented if early support was available."
Sam Townend KC, the Chair of the Bar Council Chair, said: "Investing in free legal advice will help to resolve problems earlier and mean fewer cases need to reach court. This will bear down on the record high court case backlog and will aid the wider justice system which is under huge strain and increasing pressure. The new Government should adopt a fresh approach to legal aid and recognise this is an area where it can spend to save. The report makes plain how a properly funded free legal advice sector would make a huge difference to the hundreds of thousands of people behind each case, those working in the system and the public purse in just one year alone."
Clare Carter, the Chief Executive of the Access to Justice Foundation, said the report shows that funding free legal advice is both an ethical obligation and a wise financial decision.