20.The Act reforms the legal aid system in England and Wales, and amends the law relating to conditional fee agreements between lawyers and their clients, and the award of costs between the parties to litigation. It also makes minor amendments to the legal aid scheme in Scotland.
21.The Government’s intention is to increase access to justice, by:
	reforming the legal aid scheme, which provides public funding for legal services, in order to ensure that resources can be allocated in a way that reflects priorities and to secure better value for money;
	co-ordinating central Government funding with funding from other sources, in particular local authority grants to advice centres, to ensure that the available resources are used to the best effect overall; and
	extending the scope and improving the operation of conditional fees, in order to allow more people to fund litigation privately.
22.The Act replaces the existing legal aid system with two separate schemes for funding services in civil and criminal matters. These will be known as the Community Legal Service and the Criminal Defence Service respectively. Both schemes will be run by a new body, the Legal Services Commission, which will replace the Legal Aid Board. Both will secure legal services for people who need them largely through contracts with quality assured providers. But the Commission will also be able to make grants and loans, and employ staff to provide services directly.
A.FUNDING OF LEGAL SERVICES (Parts I & II, sections 1-34) Summary