IN APRIL, the UK government cut legal aid for many areas of civil and family law proceedings.

It’s now June and my office is seeing the inevitable consequences of constituents being unable to fight custody cases for small children because they don’t have the money to pay the solicitor.

Justice is denied – and this is just the start.

The UK government has just completed a consultation into cutting criminal legal aid. Under its proposals, Gwent would be serviced by four ‘super’ law firms – winners of bids for the legal aid contract.

Gwent currently has around 30 solicitor practices doing legal aid work and the concern is that many smaller family solicitors will go under. You will have no choice of solicitor – you will just be allocated one, which means you can’t choose someone with a specialism, or knowledge of your circumstances, and may find it difficult in getting someone nearby.

Locally, solicitors say that given the cuts already made to legal aid fees, with a further 17.5 per cent to come and the fact that they may have just three months to reorganise for this, means the changes will be a disaster.

They acknowledge the Treasury is requiring the Ministry of Justice to make savings, but they say the government is not listening to practitioners who have suggested other ways they can save money.

It is important that we do not lose sight of why legal aid was established some 60 years ago. It formed an important part of the social welfare system brought in by the 1945 Labour government.

The aim was to ensure that no one was excluded from seeking redress through the justice system through inability to pay for legal representation, and that everyone has a right to a fair and just trial.

David Cameron would do well to heed the advice of one of my constituents, who feels so strongly about this through personal experience that she is collecting a petition against the UK government’s proposals. She wrote me a moving letter about how a terrible injustice would have occurred if she and her husband had not had a choice of legal team. The government should stop and listen.