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At ������Ƶ, the Rule of Law plays a central role in our purpose as an organisation – and providing people with access to legal aid, regardless of where they live, is fundamental to upholding the Rule of Law.

That’s why we decided to investigate the geographic locations throughout the country that are most in need of legal aid support but have the least access to it, and get a conversation going with the legal community about how to better support people in these areas.

Legal aid in the UK is chronically underfunded and understaffed, and it has been getting noticeably worse for years. The pandemic has only exacerbated this problem, placing a heavy strain on an already overstretched system. We all know many have experienced increased financial burdens and job loss, higher stress levels, and reduced access to health, wellbeing and government services as a result of the pandemic.

For people with limited financial circumstances living in heavily populated urban areas, gaining access to legal advice, mediation and representation is challenging enough – it can be even more so for those living in remote or rural areas.

At the Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2021, we presented some findings from our upcoming Legal Aid Deserts report – and we interviewed family law barrister, , from . Below are some of the main findings alongside interesting insights from Diegan.

Identifying legal aid deserts throughout the country

The ������Ƶ Legal Aid Deserts report identifies geographic locations with a strong demand for legal aid support and little or no access to it.

To pinpoint these deserts, we looked at the number of ‘incidents’ in the local area (which differs depending on practice area), and searches by individuals on the pro bono website LawWorks. We compared this demand to legal aid supply, which we measured by looking at local legal aid clinics and local lawyers with relevant experience.

The report, which will be released early 2022, will cover a range of different practice areas. At the Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2021 we focused on housing and family legal aid.

Housing legal aid deserts 

To measure the need for housing legal aid throughout the country, we looked at a number of metrics, including social housing waitlists, homelessness and evictions. We also looked at the areas with a high number of searches for legal housing aid.

By pulling data together, we were able to pinpoint the following 15 locations that have a high legal aid demand but no or limited access to legal aid support.

Some of these locations are surprising, with seemingly well-to-do locations like Stratford-on-Avon and Bath showing up in the list. However, there are also locations with little access to affordable housing and well below average incomes. It’s also interesting to see the regional disparities – these locations are predominantly in the Midlands and the North West.

One example that came up was the district of Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire, which has a population of 112,000 residents spread across a number of towns and the surrounding countryside.

Our research found a high number of housing incidents in the area, and 2018 data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government identified over 3,300 households on the social housing waitlist. In 2021, the same ministry revealed a proportionately high number of families with children in the area living in temporary accommodation.

The median weekly pay for Bassetlaw residents is £536 in 2020, far below the national average of £586.

Access to legal aid clinics in the area is non-existent, nor are there many local lawyers to offer support for those who can afford to cover the costs of legal bills.

The nearest clinic that offers housing legal aid is in Sheffield, which is 23 miles away and only offers services during term time.

Family legal aid deserts

The ������Ƶ GLP 2020 report published earlier this year found family work had grown hugely during the past year and a half, creating more work than barristers could get through. The pandemic has placed a huge strain on family law as a practice area, with domestic abuse, divorce and separation cases all increasing and the backlog to Family Courts continuing to rise.

Unlike housing, which is highly publicised and more likely to be reported, family law incidents often go by unreported. Nonetheless, the data we gathered pinpoints some areas with a worryingly high demand for legal aid services and little or no local representation.

Our research highlighted 15 locations with high family legal aid demand but no or limited access to legal aid services.

It’s surprising to see many locations in the South East, going against the stereotype that legal aid deserts only exist in the north or central parts of the country.

A good example is the rural district of South Ribble in Lancashire, which has approximately 109,000 residents.

In 2017, it was voted by Channel 4 as one of the country’s best places to live for people in their 20s – mainly for its high employment rates, cheap housing and green spaces. However, according to our data, the area has a comparatively high number of family incidents and searches for family legal aid.

Despite its up-and-coming reputation, the median weekly pay in South Ribble is still below average at £560, making access to legal services difficult for many. 

There are no relevant local lawyers that specialise in family law, and the nearest family law clinic is a university in Preston, which has temporarily closed its doors because of Covid-19 and cannot offer legal advice on most occasions. The next available legal clinic that offers family law services is 22 miles away.

When asked what can be done to improve access to legal aid for people living in legal deserts, family law barrister at Goldsmith Chambers, Shárin Diegan, says the answer might not be as simple as expanding support to local legal aid clinics or pro bono clinics.

“Those aren’t always accessible and there are restrictions on means testing, opening hours and generally if they’re still open or not with Covid or otherwise.”

“It may be a question of seeing if you can extend the collaboration to provide more access from London-based pro bono clinics who can outsource, and remote working has become a very welcome extension in that regard.”

Diegan made it clear that it isn’t up to barristers to take full responsibility for legal aid deserts. “It’s not right that we as a profession are expected to bear the burden of a system that isn’t working.”

However, she also highlighted how big a difference an hour or two of your time can make on someone’s case, saying she’s been able to help support people on their family law matters remotely in recent months.

“Having an understanding of legal aid deserts – where they exist and where the problems are – is so important to how we address the imbalance and ensure everyone has access to good legal advice in the future,” she also pointed out.

What next?

The aim of our presentation was to talk through some of the ways the legal community could help to support people in these hard-to-reach areas.

For instance, could lawyers look beyond local geographic areas to address locations where there is high need and low support? Some of these may be closer to urban areas than we realise.

Another option could be looking at opportunities for diversifying work by expanding into some of these particularly busy practice areas.

Collaborating with local public libraries or other communal institutions is also a viable option, as is partnering with law firms and chambers to target some of these geographically remote areas.

It’s also worth highlighting that remote technologies and other digital support can be employed to provide more support to these locations. A good example of this is how ������Ƶ partnered with LawWorks to provide free access to LexisLibrary and LexisPSL, and how we're giving pupil barristers free access to LexisPSL.

There are countless opportunities to do more to help support people in these legal deserts.

The ������Ƶ Legal Aid Deserts report will be released soon

Sign up to receive your advance copy . 

Want to get involved in the report or have questions?

Contact a member of the Bar team: thebar@lexisnexis.co.uk