Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) was one of the most controversial criminal justice statutes of recent decades. Part 1 radically reformed the legal aid system in England and Wales, removing legal aid from most private family law, social welfare law, immigration, employment, and clinical negligence cases. The Act introduced the ’exceptional case funding’ scheme to comply with Article 6 ECHR. Parts 2-6 reformed sentencing law, creating new sentencing frameworks for dangerous offenders, introducing the mandatory life sentence for the most serious offences, and amending the rules on credit for guilty pleas and the crown court’s sentencing powers. The Act also introduced the offence of squatting in a residential building.
Legal area: Criminal law defines conduct prohibited by the state and prescribes punishments for those who engage in such conduct, serving to maintain public order and protect individuals and property.
Citation: Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (2012 c 10)
Full text: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10
Key Provisions
- Part 1: Legal aid (sections 1-43) - radical reduction in scope of civil legal aid
- Section 10: Exceptional case funding (residual Article 6-compliant provision)
- Part 3: Mandatory sentences (life for second listed offence)
- Part 4: Dangerous offenders (extended sentences for certain violent/sexual offences)
- Section 144: Credit for guilty plea (reduced sentence for early plea)
- Section 144: Discount for early guilty plea (sliding scale)
- Section 147: Possession offence (maximum custodial sentence for certain offences)
- Schedule 1: Scope of civil legal services (excluded matters)
Significance
LASPO radically reduced access to justice. The legal aid cuts (Part 1) led to a significant rise in litigants in person (‘McKenzie friends’), increased court delays, and the closure of many high street law firms doing legal aid work. The exceptional case funding scheme was initially chaotic, with the High Court in R (Gudanaviciene) v Director of Legal Aid Casework (2014) quashing the Director’s guidance. The government’s post-implementation review (2018-2019) recognised the negative impact of the changes. The Act’s sentencing reforms introduced mandatory life sentences for a second listed offence, contributing to prison overcrowding.