On this day 70 years ago the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 came into force. As an organisation that campaigns to promote access to justice, the Justice Alliance wants to mark the occasion. Particularly because since 2013 legal aid has faced swingeing cuts in scope and the extent to which people can access it.
So we have produced a pamphlet Legal Aid Matters which contains short summaries of 70 legal aid cases that have changed or contributed to our understanding of the law. Contributions came from notable and interesting figures from the law, academia, the legal aid client base and campaigners. Our purpose is to showcase the history of legal aid and tell it's stories.
First, it's history. The 1949 act sits firmly within the context of the great reforms of the post war settlement – the 1944 Education Act, the 1946 National Health Service Act, the 1948 National Assistance Act and others. It is the forgotten pillar of the welfare state.
