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1611644

registered interest
date	18/04/2023
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, if he will consider the potential merits of introducing a sliding scale for eligibility for legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	181188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2023 answer text <p>The Government is currently undertaking a review of legal aid means testing across England and Wales and will publish its response in due course. The review sets out proposals for means testing in the round, including the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and the eligibility arrangements for those receiving welfare benefits <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legal-aid-means-test-review" target="_blank">Legal Aid Means Test Review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>. Legal aid remains a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and issues related to both the policy and delivery of such services fall to the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland and the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 26/04/2023 14:15:33 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1469597

registered interest
date	13/06/2022
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 he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the income threshold for eligibility for legal aid, in the context of increases in the cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	16942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>In February 2019, the Government announced a comprehensive review of the legal aid means test, which resulted in a consultation that ran from 15 March to 7 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are in the process of considering stakeholder responses to the proposals within the consultation, which include raising certain income thresholds, uprating the Cost of Living Allowance for legal aid at the Crown Court and magistrates’ court, and introducing a Cost of Living Allowance for the civil legal aid means test. The Government aims to publish its final response in the Autumn.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 20/06/2022 15:08:09 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1186954

registered interest
date	23/03/2020
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 plans he has to review the eligibility for legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	33519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced a review of the legal aid means test on 7 February 2019, as part of the Legal Support Action Plan.</p><p> </p><p>The review is in progress, bringing together data, evidence and expertise, and liaising with experts from across the field to explore potential improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>The review is considering the full range of means-testing criteria, including the applicable thresholds for legal aid entitlement and their interaction with wider criteria.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 31/03/2020 12:37:40 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1172007

registered interest
date	20/01/2020
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 his Department will include women unable to afford a divorce without access to legal aid as part of his Department's review of the financial eligibility thresholds for people seeking legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	5419
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>The Legal Support Action Plan (published in February 2019) announced a review of the legal aid means tests for England and Wales, which is currently underway and expected to conclude in Summer 2020 with a public consultation on potential policy changes to follow.</p><p>The Means Test Review is considering the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and their interaction with the wider eligibility criteria and is assessing the effectiveness with which the civil and criminal means tests protect access to justice, particularly for those who are vulnerable, such as victims of domestic abuse.</p><p>Divorce proceedings are not usually in scope for legal aid, other than when there is evidence of domestic abuse or child abuse. The Means Test Review is not considering changes to what is in scope for legal aid, however some divorce cases may qualify for legal aid under the existing Exceptional Funding Scheme, where there is a breach (or a risk of breach) of the individual’s human rights.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, The Family Legal Team at Royal Courts of Justice Advice provide free and confidential legal advice to anyone in England and Wales who is not able to afford a solicitor. Litigants who feel they cannot afford the tribunal fee for their divorce proceeding may apply to the Ministry of Justice fee remissions scheme: Help with Fees.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 28/01/2020 13:41:39 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon