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<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>
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