DON’T BE SILENCED TODAY: Write to the parliamentary Bill Committee and let MPs and Ministers know what you think

The second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill took place in the House of Commons on Wednesday 29 of June. This vote was lost by 83 and now we move on to the next parliamentary stage and we need to fight to turn this around.

This is another opportunity for you not to be silenced by MPs and Ministers. In this step of the parliamentary process, parliamentarians get to hear from the public how bad this bill is and the impact that it will have to families, communities and individuals in the UK.

You can get involved and let the committee know what you think of the bill and the impact it will have. This is simple. All you have to do is follow the directions below and e-mail the committee. Please take this opportunity to tell the government that they are on the wrong track.

The Committee will hear oral evidence on Tuesday 12 July and Thursday 14 July and then consider the Bill every Tuesday and Thursday, excluding the recess, from that point concluding on Thursday 13 October 2011.

Today at 4.00pm The Law Society; The Bar Council; Family Mediation Council (TBC); and Leigh Day & Co Solicitors will give evidence to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Committee.

Two MOJ Ministers – Crispin Blunt and Jonathan Djanogly sit on this committee. To date they have not listened to the 4,000 people who are against the bill. To date they have not 25,000 people that have signed our petition. They are now trying to fast-track the bill through parliament. They now have an opportunity to will listen to the evidence and start to understand that their bill is an attack on the principle of ‘access to justice’. We will hold them responsible for the impact of this bill, the cost to the taxpayer, the cost to society, communities and families.

They have not listened to you or us yet and we hope they will understand that their cuts are attacking the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society.

Who is on the committee?

This is a committee that is made up of members of parliament who will go through the bill and take evidence

Conservative members: Crispin Blunt, Robert Buckland, Minister Jonathan Djanogly, Ben Gummer, Damian Hinds, Jessica Lee, Anna Soubry, Elizabeth Truss, Ben Wallace, Jeremy Wright

Labour members: Andy Slaughter, Helen Goodman, Alex Cunningham, Jonathan Reynolds, David Watts, Yvonne Fovargue, Karl Turner, Kate Green

Plaid Cymru member: Elfyn Llwyd

Liberal Democrat members: Mike Crockart, Tom Brake

You can find out more about the MP and how to contact them directly here.

Your letters, comments and evidence will be circulated around the MPs that are on the bill committee. Anyone can write. You can be a member of the public, someone who has benefitted from legal aid, a legal aid firm the main thing is that you are not silenced and that you take this opportunity to ‘Sound Off For Justice’. Please mention our campaign so they know we are all working together.

What should written evidence cover?

Your submission should address matters contained within the Bill and concentrate on issues where you have a special interest or expertise, and factual information of which you would like the Committee to be aware. It is helpful if the submission includes a brief introduction about you or your organisation. The submission should not have been previously published or circulated elsewhere. If you have any concerns about your submission, please contact the House of Commons Scrutiny Unit.

How should written evidence be submitted?

Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk.

You can find guidance on submitting evidence to the Public Bill committee here.