The new Legal Aid portal, which will replace the previous portal which was hacked by cyber attackers earlier this year, will see a three-phase restoration starting from ‘early September’ though to October.
Responding to a Parliamentary written question Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman said she expected services to be restored ‘subject to testing, security and legal criteria being met.’ In her answer Sackman goes on to explain there will be a phased return of the brand new portal with Crime systems (Crime Apply, and Submit a Crime Form) available first, followed by Civil systems (Civil Apply, and the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS)), and services relating to the Controlled Work Administration (CWA) will follow in October.
It was revealed in July a brand new Legal Aid portal, called ‘Signing into Legal Aid Services’ (SILAS), was being developed following the cyber attack in April which let over 2m people’s details exposed to hackers. This has been subject to testing by a small pilot group throughout August said Sackman, adding
The LAA continues to engage with representative bodies to help shape the steps to service restoration in a way which supports legal aid providers most effectively. Regular updates are being provided to providers and further information will be published on GOV.UK closer to the go live date. In the meantime, the LAA continues to publish information and updates about SiLAS on its FAQ page: Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident: frequently asked questions – GOV.UK.
The cyber attack has left many legal aid firms ‘on a knife edge’ said Beverley Watkins, Managing Partner of Bristol-based Watkins Solicitors, and a member of the Legal Aid Practitioner Group (LAPG) Board and Advisory Committee. In an upcoming Today’s Family Lawyer podcast Watkins described the a ‘devastating effect’ on firms, and in particular on cash flow against a backdrop of ‘decades of underinvestment in legal aid.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said
“We understand the challenges this situation presents for legal aid providers – we are working as fast as possible to restore our online systems and have put in place contingencies to allow legal aid work to continue safely with confidence.”
“These measures include setting up an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases, resuming payments on criminal legal aid cases, putting in place processes for urgent civil application approvals and confirming that criminal applications made in this time will be backdated.”
One Response
A legal practitioner for over 37 years and predominately undertaking legal aid work the cyber attack provided me with a reason to undertake less public funded work. The withdrawal of the system was indeed a hardship and continues to be.
What will be different with the new SILAS system, we will soon discover. The underfunding of legal aid in civil/family cases has seen its impact in the access to justice and how long cases are being dealt with. It is not uncommon for cases to take upwards of three years to resolve. The delays are a direct result of the cutting of legal aid.
For over a decade fees paid to legal aid practitioners has remained static, but the work that practitioners have to undertake has grown expediently. The overall result of the reduction of availability of legal aid is that there has been a pay cut for practitioners to do this extremely valuable work. I for my part am exhausted with the amount of work that is required, yet remuneration has reduced. Those who made decisions to cut access to legal aid for family cases are directly responsible for all that we are see in the family justice system and across the legal services public funded industry. The expectation that practitioners would simply put up with the changes foisted upon them is now unravelling.
There is more violence and dysfunction in our society and the court system is ill equipped to adjust to these changes, which ultimately will affect our future society .
The use of QLRs to bridge the gulf in representation in crime civil and family cases will not cure the disease and when you see the QLR system in operation it is concerning how justice is in fact being done to all those who use it.
The cyber attack is the outward manifestation of the malaise in the justice system and a new system (SILAS) is unlikely to significantly and positively impact the justice system.
I am a hopeful person and work with what is on offer and do all i can to assist those that require my expert legal services but there comes a point when you must acknowledge that you are fighting a losing battle.
Yet i look forward to seeing what the new SILAS system will offer.
I continue to be hopeful for our broken society.