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1624407

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
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 estimate he has made of the number of people who are unable to afford private legal fees and are ineligible for legal aid; whether his Department has identified areas of the country where there is a lack of legal aid services available across different legal specialisms; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) on (a) the number of people who are unable to afford private legal fees and are ineligible for legal aid and (b) the areas where there is a lack of legal aid services available across different legal specialisms.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183074
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183075 183076 183077 183078 183079 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:34 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1624408

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
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 adequacy of pay for people working in legal aid; and if he will make an estimate of the number of Legal Aid providers that have accepted new cases since the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) came into force.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183074 183076 183077 183078 183079 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1624409

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of access to housing legal aid; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding housing legal aid to include (a) welfare benefits advice, (b) early housing advice and (c) advice on disrepair compensation claims.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183074 183075 183077 183078 183079 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1624410

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
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 impact of the availability of access to housing legal aid on (a) numbers of evictions, (b) enforcement of tenants’ rights and (c) the number of legal proceedings brought forward relating to housing.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183074 183075 183076 183078 183079 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1624411

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
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 impact of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) (a) numbers of successful tenant defences at possessions proceedings, (b) numbers of evictions, (c) homelessness levels and (d) numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183074 183075 183076 183077 183079 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1624415

registered interest
date	27/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) on the (a) availability, (b) effectiveness and (c) durability of legal aid firms providing housing advice services.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	183079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice consulted on several changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means tests to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to all who need it. When implemented, the changes will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million.</p><p> </p><p>At the Crown Court, the Government has also proposed removing the current £37,500 disposable income threshold; if implemented, this would mean that all defendants at the Crown Court would be eligible for legal aid and so would not have to pay privately, though a proportion may be required to pay a monthly income contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) introduced changes to the scope of legal aid, legal aid services continued to be delivered following LASPO. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">statistics</a> regarding new cases completed and started in each period by legal aid scheme with additional breakdowns by region and by Controlled and Licensed Work at tables 9.1-5.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure additional provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services, which may vary across different categories of law and across different geographic regions, is met. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice continues to consider the long-term sustainability of the criminal and civil legal aid market. Following publication of our full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) on 30 November 2022, we have boosted the system with immediate investment to address the most urgent concerns, including uplifts of 15% to most legal aid fee schemes.</p><p>Our plans will put criminal legal aid on a sustainable footing and ensure there is a sustainable supply of practitioners. Criminal legal aid spend is expected to increase to £1.2 billion per year, which is the highest level since 2010.</p><p>We have also recently launched a review of civil legal aid to identify evidence-based options which will help inform our longer-term strategy for improving the sustainability and effectiveness of the civil legal aid system.</p><p>Concerning legal aid for housing matters, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777038/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo.pdf" target="_blank">2019 Post Implementation Review of Part 1 of LASPO</a> found that individuals experiencing social welfare problems, especially related to housing matters, struggle to resolve their problems early, often leading to a clustering of problems. This in turn requires costly intervention at the courts and increases pressure on social services. In response, the MoJ is amending LASPO to expand the scope of legal aid for people facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits from 1 August 2023 through the creation of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).</p><p> </p><p>It is hoped that the HLPAS will enable individuals to resolve matters before court proceedings take place, reducing homelessness and pressure on the courts. HLPAS will also support housing legal aid providers, providing payment for the early legal advice and improving renumeration rates for delivering the court duty service. Up to £10m in annual funding has been made available for HLPAS.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, since 31 October 2022 we have been piloting early legal advice on certain housing, debt and welfare benefits matters in Manchester and Middlesbrough to test the impact of early legal advice on resolving an individual’s problem more quickly. The pilot ended on 31 March 2023 and a final evaluation report is expected in July 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Legal aid remains available for disrepair cases when there is a serious threat of illness or injury. Anyone in this position should contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the MoJ continually monitors the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">latest data on possession proceedings</a>, we are unable to assess the impact of LASPO on any trends in possession proceedings, evictions, homelessness levels and numbers of successful application for local Government homelessness assistance. This is because we cannot isolate any LASPO impact from changes over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Information concerning housing legal aid providers can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 183074 183075 183076 183077 183078 question first answered 09/05/2023 13:39:35 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1183874

registered interest
date	10/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the judgment in Smyth, Re Judicial Review [2017] NIQB 55, for what reasons the remit of the Law Commission's review of weddings law includes the legal recognition of humanist marriages.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	27537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 18/03/2020 17:56:42 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1182758

registered interest
date	04/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting legal recognition to humanist marriages in advance of the report from the Law Commission.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	25124
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2020 answer text <p>Government consulted in 2014 on marriages by non-religious belief organisations. Assessment of these matters can be found in the Government response at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/marriages-by-non-religious-belief-organisations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 25125 25126 question first answered 12/03/2020 14:02:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1182760

registered interest
date	04/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
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 public support for legal recognition of humanist marriages in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	25125
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2020 answer text <p>Government consulted in 2014 on marriages by non-religious belief organisations. Assessment of these matters can be found in the Government response at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/marriages-by-non-religious-belief-organisations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 25124 25126 question first answered 12/03/2020 14:02:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1182761

registered interest
date	04/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage
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 adequacy of choices available to non-religious couples to have a legally-recognised wedding conducted in line with their own beliefs.
tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
uin	25126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2020 answer text <p>Government consulted in 2014 on marriages by non-religious belief organisations. Assessment of these matters can be found in the Government response at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/marriages-by-non-religious-belief-organisations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 25124 25125 question first answered 12/03/2020 14:02:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey