Member

We are seeing far too many defendants representing themselves in the magistrates court because they earn too much to qualify for legal aid. Our legal aid report found that as many as 48% of defendants appeared in 2023 without representation for imprisonable, summary-only offences. We also found that today, an adult working full time at the national minimum wage may earn too much to qualify for legal aid in the magistrates court. We have low-paid workers walking into courtrooms without a lawyer to advise and guide them. They do not understand the rules, and the consequences if they lose could mean that they lose everything—their job, their home and their family. This may be an inherited crisis, but making it worse is a choice.