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1726980

registered interest
date	03/09/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of legal aid in the context of recent increases in the cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Abtisam Mohamed
uin	4097
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2024 answer text <p>Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice, and ultimately upholds the rule of law.</p><p> </p><p>We are keen to understand the different ways the legal aid system can be improved to ensure each part works to the best of its ability. We will be carefully considering our options on the way forward including the evidence gathered over the past year on civil legal aid.</p><p> </p><p>This Government understands the challenges related to legal aid eligibility and we are assessing the appropriate next steps. We are also seeking to implement changes to the means test that will extend the range of payments which may or must be disregarded from the legal aid means assessment.</p> answering member constituency Swindon South answering member printed Heidi Alexander question first answered 11/09/2024 14:16:45 answering member 4038 label Biography information for Heidi Alexander
tabling member	5142

1726520

registered interest
date	02/09/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase fees payable for (1) barristers, and (2) solicitors, undertaking legal aid cases.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Bristol
uin	HL584
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>We want to understand the different ways in which the justice system can be improved and will be carefully considering our options on the way forward, including with regards to legal aid. We acknowledge that the sustainability of the profession is central to a successful legal aid system.</p><p> </p><p>We will carefully consider the evidence including, for example, information gathered as part of the Review of Civil Legal Aid.</p> answering member printed Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede question first answered 16/09/2024 13:42:05 answering member 3154 label Biography information for Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
tabling member	4709 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Bristol

1725697

registered interest
date	30/08/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to (a) review and (b) reform civil legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Bedford
tabling member printed	Mohammad Yasin
uin	3013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2024 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid sector and are keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies to look at how best we can address this.</p><p>We want to understand the different ways in which the justice system can be improved and will be carefully considering our options on the way forward. This includes considering the evidence on civil legal aid gathered over the past year.</p> answering member constituency Swindon South answering member printed Heidi Alexander question first answered 09/09/2024 16:04:30 answering member 4038 label Biography information for Heidi Alexander
tabling member	4598 label Biography information for Mohammad Yasin

1722419

registered interest
date	22/07/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on ensuring value for money in legal aid provision.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2024 answer text <p>Legal aid is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. My Rt. Hon. friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has not yet had the opportunity to discuss legal aid with the devolved governments. Ministers look forward to working with their counterparts in the devolved governments on a range of issues, including legal aid.</p> answering member constituency Swindon South answering member printed Heidi Alexander question first answered 25/07/2024 12:39:07 answering member 4038 label Biography information for Heidi Alexander
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1700845

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 2542 on Legal Aid Scheme: Manchester and Middlesbrough, what progress has been made on preparing the evaluation report into the early legal advice pilot scheme; and when he plans to publish that report.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	21609
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>We plan to publish all Early Legal Advice Pilot (ELAP) outputs in accordance with Government Social Research protocols very soon.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 23/04/2024 14:14:34 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1692783

registered interest
date	29/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that legal aid remains accessible.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	16285
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2024 answer text <p>Access to justice is a fundamental right, and in 2022/23 we spent £1.86 billion on legal aid: £926 million on civil, £873 million on crime, and £56 million through central funds (central funds provide funding for, amongst other things, Defence Costs Orders, which are made in respect of non legally-aided defendants who are acquitted, and independent cross examination of vulnerable witnesses in criminal and civil proceedings).</p><p>The Ministry of Justice published the Government Response to the Means Test Review consultation exercise in May 2023, which sets out the detailed policy decisions underpinning the new means-test arrangements.</p><p>Our changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million, with 3.5 million more people eligible for criminal legal aid at the magistrates’ court.</p><p>We have also injected up to £10 million a year into housing legal aid through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). HLPAS provides early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits problems for anyone facing the loss of their home.</p><p>In 2023, we broadened the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid. Special Guardianship Orders in private law proceedings were also brought into the scope of legal aid. This represented an injection of £13 million a year.</p><p>We will shortly be consulting on expanding the provision of legal aid at inquests related to major incidents where the Independent Public Advocate is appointed or in the aftermath of terrorist incidents. If implemented, this would mean that no family involved in such cases in future would face an inquest without proper legal representation.</p><p>To support and strengthen the criminal legal aid sector, in responding to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, we uplifted most criminal legal aid fee schemes by 15% in 2022. We are also consulting on reforms to the police station fee scheme and the Youth Court fee scheme, for which we have allocated an extra £21 million per year. These changes increase spend by up to £141 million a year - taking expected criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion per year. The additional funding into the system will help contribute towards the sustainability of the market and help ensure legal aid is accessible for the future.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 16425 question first answered 08/03/2024 14:37:18 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1692787

registered interest
date	29/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that legal aid remains accessible.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Charlotte Nichols
uin	16425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2024 answer text <p>Access to justice is a fundamental right, and in 2022/23 we spent £1.86 billion on legal aid: £926 million on civil, £873 million on crime, and £56 million through central funds (central funds provide funding for, amongst other things, Defence Costs Orders, which are made in respect of non legally-aided defendants who are acquitted, and independent cross examination of vulnerable witnesses in criminal and civil proceedings).</p><p>The Ministry of Justice published the Government Response to the Means Test Review consultation exercise in May 2023, which sets out the detailed policy decisions underpinning the new means-test arrangements.</p><p>Our changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million, with 3.5 million more people eligible for criminal legal aid at the magistrates’ court.</p><p>We have also injected up to £10 million a year into housing legal aid through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). HLPAS provides early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits problems for anyone facing the loss of their home.</p><p>In 2023, we broadened the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid. Special Guardianship Orders in private law proceedings were also brought into the scope of legal aid. This represented an injection of £13 million a year.</p><p>We will shortly be consulting on expanding the provision of legal aid at inquests related to major incidents where the Independent Public Advocate is appointed or in the aftermath of terrorist incidents. If implemented, this would mean that no family involved in such cases in future would face an inquest without proper legal representation.</p><p>To support and strengthen the criminal legal aid sector, in responding to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, we uplifted most criminal legal aid fee schemes by 15% in 2022. We are also consulting on reforms to the police station fee scheme and the Youth Court fee scheme, for which we have allocated an extra £21 million per year. These changes increase spend by up to £141 million a year - taking expected criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion per year. The additional funding into the system will help contribute towards the sustainability of the market and help ensure legal aid is accessible for the future.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 16285 question first answered 08/03/2024 14:37:18 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4799 label Biography information for Charlotte Nichols

1690471

registered interest
date	20/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the judgment in the case of the Law Society of England and Wales v The Lord Chancellor of 31 January 2024.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	14863
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2024 answer text <p>While the claimants in the case being referred to were successful on specific narrow grounds, the majority of their claims were rejected by the Court. We are carefully considering the judgment and will set out further detail on our response in due course.</p><p>We recently announced a consultation that would lead to an additional £21 million being invested in the criminal legal aid solicitor profession, bringing the overall increase from 9% to 11%. We expect our existing reforms to increase spending on criminal legal aid by up to £141 million a year.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 23/02/2024 11:37:55 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1670263

registered interest
date	15/11/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will include scope and fees in the review of civil legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	2143
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is currently undertaking a Review of Civil Legal Aid to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient, and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid.</p><p> </p><p>The Review will consider the civil legal aid system in its entirety: how services are procured, how well the current system works for users, how civil legal aid impacts the wider justice system, and whether the civil legal aid system offers a financially viable business option for legal aid providers. It will also consider the overall fee structures of the civil legal aid system. The scope of legal aid is not within the Review’s remit.</p><p> </p><p>In the interim, we are continuing to make improvements across the sector to ensure legal aid is available to those who need it. From 1 August 2023, the scope of legal aid was expanded, enabling people facing the loss of their home to receive early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues as well as representation in court. This means an increase in funding of up to £10m each year.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we recently laid secondary legislation to bring Special Guardianship Orders brought in private law proceedings within scope of legal aid, injecting a further £13m into family legal aid per year. We have also broadened the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid, making it easier for victims to evidence their claims. This will deliver on our commitments to support victims of domestic abuse and allow special guardians to access legal aid.</p><p> </p><p>Eligibility for legal aid was considered in the Legal Aid Means Test Review. The Ministry of Justice published the Government Response to the Review’s consultation exercise in May 2023, which set out the detailed policy decisions underpinning the new means-testing arrangements. When implemented, we estimate that spending on legal aid will rise by circa £25 million. This will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 2144 question first answered 20/11/2023 16:00:49 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1670264

registered interest
date	15/11/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his decision not to include (a) eligibility and (b) fees as part of his review of civil legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	2144
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is currently undertaking a Review of Civil Legal Aid to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient, and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid.</p><p> </p><p>The Review will consider the civil legal aid system in its entirety: how services are procured, how well the current system works for users, how civil legal aid impacts the wider justice system, and whether the civil legal aid system offers a financially viable business option for legal aid providers. It will also consider the overall fee structures of the civil legal aid system. The scope of legal aid is not within the Review’s remit.</p><p> </p><p>In the interim, we are continuing to make improvements across the sector to ensure legal aid is available to those who need it. From 1 August 2023, the scope of legal aid was expanded, enabling people facing the loss of their home to receive early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues as well as representation in court. This means an increase in funding of up to £10m each year.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we recently laid secondary legislation to bring Special Guardianship Orders brought in private law proceedings within scope of legal aid, injecting a further £13m into family legal aid per year. We have also broadened the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid, making it easier for victims to evidence their claims. This will deliver on our commitments to support victims of domestic abuse and allow special guardians to access legal aid.</p><p> </p><p>Eligibility for legal aid was considered in the Legal Aid Means Test Review. The Ministry of Justice published the Government Response to the Review’s consultation exercise in May 2023, which set out the detailed policy decisions underpinning the new means-testing arrangements. When implemented, we estimate that spending on legal aid will rise by circa £25 million. This will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 2143 question first answered 20/11/2023 16:00:49 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham