3rd April 2013

Changes to Legal Aid - Welsh Women's Aid (WWA) and Women's Aid England Response

WWA and Women's Aid England have been working closely with the Rights of Women (RoW) to identify ways to effectively respond to the changes in Legal Aid. RoW have been in conversations with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to agree a template letter which refuges can use to provide women with evidence of their admission to a refuge (for more than 24 hours in the last 24 months) in order to satisfy the evidence gateway. The first draft of the letter is very simple and uncomplicated so hopefully things will be finalised very shortly. RoW are still currently negotiating around the process and have been asked to collect data for the MoJ which is being finalised. During March RoW will be  producing a briefing/guide to the changes for circulation in March .We will keep you updated in relation to further progress in this area.