Disconnected - The reality that lies between political rhetoric and real life in the field of Public
Communication experts, or at least those who are trying to sell us the latest ‘device’, have, for a number of years, been telling us that we are all now ‘connected’ and thus the sum of human happiness is increased. I beg to differ.
When I joined my first Cornish practice in 1984, in what was then the merely ‘bustling’ City of Truro, we dealt with a wide range of Client’s, many of whom came from one of the two large Council Estates that stood, and still stand, to the East and West of the City Centre.
Client’s needs were many and varied but in the main they required help with the collapse of their domestic arrangements, either by reason of one party’s dependence on alcohol and / or drugs or the regular requirement to ‘chastise’ their opposite number for some perceived slight or failure to adhere to the family routine. These problems did not always follow the expected ‘norm’. I had one client who was a six foot, burly, firefighter whose wife had taken to waiting behind the kitchen door with a frying pan and swinging it, a la Tom & Jerry, at his head!
There were also cases involving children. Cornwall looks, and is idyllic, but it has its’ fair share of parents struggling to look after their children, for whatever reason, and needing help to have their side of what is often a multi layered, confusing and harrowing story, told by a professional who is not blinkered by a prejudiced and narrow vision that so often accompanies a cursory look at such cases.
Battered, wives, husbands, partners; those struggling to understand financial matters and those trying to keep contact with their children, whether in the realm of child protection cases or the often fraught atmosphere of private family breakdown, all could count on independent, professional help.
Whatever the problem, we were able to help them as most qualified for Legal Aid, not just because they were impecunious, but because the merits thresholds were, in most cases, easily met.
Where did it go wrong?
Ostensibly every Government tells the public that it is committed to protecting the poor and innocent but changes over recent years have eaten away at the reality behind the rhetoric.
Politicians will tell you that the definition of Domestic Violence has been ‘widened’ to protect people from the more insidious forms of abusive behaviour. What they don’t tell you is that the merits thresholds have been set at such levels that you have to produce evidence that would be as worthy as any full police investigation. Where physical violence is concerned a medical or police report is required, usually after the event.
Whatever happened to prevention is better than cure?
In Financial matters the Government champions greater reliance upon Mediators and the Mediation process. I may be doing some Mediators a disservice but I have yet to meet one who is able to unravel complicated Financial and Tax affairs. Entitled parties go away empty handed to potentially become a burden on the State. The sensational settlements in high profile cases do not reflect the position of spouses who have been cheated out of a proper settlement because they could not afford proper legal and accountancy advice.
Robust costs orders, against tardy and mendacious parties, is the answer, and the Statutory Charge always goes towards helping balance the books.
In Private Family disputes over children I’m all for limiting the cost of experts and timetabling cases to speed them up to avoid ‘tactical’ delay. As things are now, the Courts deal more and more with litigants in person, often without the benefit of Independent expert evidence, and with CAFCASS struggling to meet the most basic levels of reporting targets.
The system is creaking and it seems inevitable that there will be an error, or a case which requires Judicial oversight not coming before a Court, with catastrophic consequences.
Arguably, it gets even worse in the field of Public child protection.
True, Public Funding is not means or merits tested but the level of Remuneration to the profession is now derisory. The London rate with 15% enhancement is £63.52 per hour, even less outside London. This is for highly trained, dedicated and committed professionals who have the care and protection of the most vulnerable parents and children in their hands.
Save for notable exceptions many of the really good Public Law lawyers are giving up as the work is just not remunerative.
These cases when they go wrong are catastrophic. The involvement of properly paid professionals is vital to avoid repetition of past mistakes. At the moment, despite promises of ‘never letting this happen again’ the Government’s cutting of remuneration rates makes the occurrence of another horror story, again, almost inevitable.
Legal Aid rates have never been overly generous, but with application and hard work you could make a living and you had the satisfaction of helping others and seeing that justice was done for those whose only voice came through your skill and ability.
Nowadays, helping others is not seen as a priority, a parsimonious attitude by Government does nothing to redress the balance and what is at risk is the politician’s allegedly most sacred icon – The Family.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
A unanimous Court of Appeal decision in February this year declared that the government’s changes to the legal aid rules on domestic violence cases were “legally flawed” and “invalid”. The Ministry of Justice’s response was somewhat mealy mouthed but could this be the start of a proper review of the radical changes made by the government across the board?
We can only hope so.
This article was written by Neil Lobb who is the Practice Manager at Burcher Jennings Truro office. Before becoming a costs draftsman in 2003, Neil practiced as a general litigator, including family work, in both London and the far southwest. He has also advised solicitors on legal aid file management and costs maximisation.