FOR the fifth year running Government spending watchdogs at the National Audit Office have refused to approve the legal aid accounts.

And no wonder. According to the watchdogs, 46 per cent of applicants for free legal aid provided either insufficient or no evidence of their entitlement.

And 15 per cent of applicants who contributed towards their legal aid gave no evidence of their earnings, and court staff asked for no explanation as to why it was not provided.

Considering that legal aid costs the taxpayer millions of pounds every year, this is a disgraceful state of affairs.

Apparently, there is evidence of wide variation in performance between individual courts.

But there are rules for the granting of legal aid which court staff should follow. If these rules are not being followed, and obviously in some cases they are not, then appropriate steps should be taken to ensure they are.

Either that, or the whole legal aid system should be reformed.

As we have stated previously, it is essential that legal aid remains available for those who need it, especially in the criminal courts.

But while payouts from the £500 million legal aid budget are being handed out too easily, it brings the whole system into disrepute.

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