Viscount Colville of Culrossasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to improve the administrative arrangements relating to the processing of applications for civil legal aid.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone)A scrutiny of the administrative arrangements relating to applications for civil legal aid will soon commence under the auspices of the Rayner programme. Its terms of reference are
To examine the current arrangements relevant to the assessment of financial eligibility for civil legal aid and to make recommendations".It will be conducted jointly by officers of my department and the Department of Health and Social Security. The review will be completed by early summer; preliminary work has already started.
New arrangements are being introduced to enable the Law Society to obtain information directly from DHSS local offices where the applicant is receiving supplementary benefit. This will cut out an intermediate stage in so far as these inquiries are at present routed through the legal aid assessment offices of DHSS.
For other cases urgent consideration is being given to the introduction of a system of assessment on the basis of information obtained by postal inquiry. This development is at an early stage, but, subject to successful completion of pilot trials, it offers indications of further significant improvements in efficiency.
In 1979 the introduction of the scheme for assistance by way of representation ensured that the assessment of those pursuing domestic proceedings in magistrates' courts (about a quarter of assisted litigants) would be carried out by their own solicitors on the spot under the Green Form Scheme, and at the time of the major uprating in the financial limits of eligibility in 1979 a number of allowances were abolished, which simplified and expedited assessments.
Over the last year, in consultation with the Law Society and the Legal Aid Advisory Committee, the Lord Chancellor's Department has further evaluated all outstanding proposals that have been made to me for simplifying the assessment rules. I will make a further statement about these shortly.
I remain ready to consider any other worthwhile proposal for further simplification and improvement. It must be borne in mind, however, that simplicity can carry with it the danger of arbitrariness and hardship; careful attention is essential to ensure that the balance between expedition and fairness is maintained.