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Petition · past parliament

Re open the debate surrounding the restriction of legal aid provisions

Closed 496 signatures

What the petition asks

In the Chancellor's Autumn Spending Review, the provision of Legal Aid was entirely omitted. Despite this oversight, the impacts of recent Legal Aid cuts continue to have dire consequences. We therefore call for this issue to no longer go unnoticed and to be put back firmly on the national agenda.
Legal aid was introduced in 1949 as a pillar of the welfare state and allowed many to access justice for the first time. In recent years however, it has been subject to constant budget restrictions. This culminated in the 2013 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, which set out plans to slash Legal Aid to dangerously low levels. As a direct result, the UK is now facing an unprecedented access to justice crisis, with faith in the system at perilously low levels.

Timeline

2 Dec 2015 Petition opened for signatures
2 Jun 2016 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 496
Status Closed
Opened 2 Dec 2015
Closed 2 Jun 2016

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.