Law

Originally introduced as a form of social welfare with near-universal eligibility, legal aid in the UK is now framed as a benefit external to the legal system and understood in primarily economic terms. This book is the first to evaluate the recent reforms of UK legal aid from a social policy perspective and assess their impact on family law courts and advocacy.

Written by experts in the field, it focuses on the rise in people representing their own legal case and argues that the reforms effectively ‘delawyerise’ disputes, producing a more inquisitorial justice system and impacting the litigants, court system, staff and process.

Arguing for a more holistic concept of the reforms, the book will be of relevance to students, academics, policy-makers, judges, campaigners and social workers, not just in England and Wales, but in other jurisdictions instituting cuts to their legal aid budgets, such as Australia, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. How does Brexit change Northern Ireland’s system of government? Could it unravel crucial parts of Northern Ireland’s peace process? What are the wider implications of the arrangements for the Irish and UK constitutions?

Northern Ireland presents some of the most difficult Brexit dilemmas.

Negotiations between the UK and the EU have set out how issues like citizenship, trade, the border, human rights and constitutional questions may be resolved. But the long-term impact of Brexit isn’t clear.

This thorough analysis draws upon EU, UK, Irish and international law, setting the scene for a post-Brexit Northern Ireland by showing what the future might hold.

The growing demand for social housing is one of the most pressing public issues in the UK today, and this book analyses its role and impact.

Anchored in a discussion of different approaches to the meaning and measurement of wellbeing, the author explores how these perspectives influence our views of the meaning, value and purpose of social housing in today’s welfare state. The closing arguments of the book suggest a more universalist approach to social housing, designed to meet the common needs of a wide range of households, with diverse socioeconomic characteristics, but all sharing the same equality of social status.

The growing demand for social housing is one of the most pressing public issues in the UK today, and this book analyses its role and impact.

Anchored in a discussion of different approaches to the meaning and measurement of wellbeing, the author explores how these perspectives influence our views of the meaning, value and purpose of social housing in today’s welfare state. The closing arguments of the book suggest a more universalist approach to social housing, designed to meet the common needs of a wide range of households, with diverse socioeconomic characteristics, but all sharing the same equality of social status.

Even though legal aid is available for people seeking asylum, there is uneven access to advice across Britain.

Based on empirical research, this book offers fresh thinking on what has gone wrong in the legal aid market. It presents a rare picture of the barristers, solicitors and caseworkers practising immigration law in charities and private firms. In doing so, this book examines supply and demand and illuminates what constitutes high-quality legal aid work/provision, subsequent conflicts with financial rationality and how practitioners resolve these issues.

Challenging existing legal aid policy, this book presents innovative insights to ensure public service markets around the globe function well for all those involved.

Even though legal aid is available for people seeking asylum, there is uneven access to advice across Britain.

Based on empirical research, this book offers fresh thinking on what has gone wrong in the legal aid market. It presents a rare picture of the barristers, solicitors and caseworkers practising immigration law in charities and private firms. In doing so, this book examines supply and demand and illuminates what constitutes high-quality legal aid work/provision, subsequent conflicts with financial rationality and how practitioners resolve these issues.

Challenging existing legal aid policy, this book presents innovative insights to ensure public service markets around the globe function well for all those involved.

Deepening inequalities and wider processes of demographic, economic and social change are altering how people across the Global North move between homes and neighbourhoods over the lifespan.

This book presents a life course framework for understanding how the changing dynamics of people’s family, education, employment and health experiences are deeply intertwined with ongoing shifts in housing behaviour and residential pathways. Particular attention is paid to how these processes help to drive uneven patterns of population change within and across neighbourhoods and localities.

Integrating the latest research from multiple disciplines, the author shows how housing and life course dynamics are together reshaping 21st-century inequalities in ways that demand greater attention from scholars and public policy makers.

Deepening inequalities and wider processes of demographic, economic and social change are altering how people across the Global North move between homes and neighbourhoods over the lifespan.

This book presents a life course framework for understanding how the changing dynamics of people’s family, education, employment and health experiences are deeply intertwined with ongoing shifts in housing behaviour and residential pathways. Particular attention is paid to how these processes help to drive uneven patterns of population change within and across neighbourhoods and localities.

Integrating the latest research from multiple disciplines, the author shows how housing and life course dynamics are together reshaping 21st-century inequalities in ways that demand greater attention from scholars and public policy makers.

This book is a manifesto for change that showcases new policy ideas for an incoming Labour government.

Organised by the Society of Labour Lawyers, the Labour Party’s legal think tank, the contributors inspire debate about Britain’s future, exploring a wide range of issues from access to justice to family law reform, housing, employment, EU and trade law, asylum and refugee law, immigration and citizenship, international law and constitutional reform.

This book is a must-have collection of new insights into how a Labour government can renew Britain.