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<p>In 2021/22, the Department spent £1.6 billion on legal aid to ensure this vital
support is accessible.</p><p>The volume of providers holding legal aid contracts at
any given time is subject to change due to market forces, and other factors such as
the internal management and updating of contract schedules. As such, a decline in
contracts does not necessarily equate to a loss of provision in the area as this can
occur due to mergers or other consolidation activity.</p><p>The Legal Aid Agency keeps
market capacity under constant review, ensuring access across England and Wales and
taking immediate action where required. We are also undertaking a review of the civil
legal aid market to identify changes which could be pursued in the longer term to
make the market more effective and efficient.</p><p>We have introduced a 15% uplift
across most fee schemes in line with the recommendations made in the Criminal Legal
Aid Independent Review. Uplifts for solicitors and barristers have already started
being paid for new cases following the increased rates which came into force on 30
September 2022.</p><p>We have also applied the recent fee uplifts to the vast majority
of existing Crown Court cases to address concerns that the uplifted fees did not apply
to previous work. This came into force on 31 October 2022.</p><p>Alongside this, we
have consulted on changes to the Legal Aid Means Test which will mean an additional
3.5 million people in England and Wales will have access to legal aid at the magistrates’
court, and 2 million more will have access to civil legal aid. Additionally, wherever
you are in England and Wales, legal advice on a range of civil issues is available
through the Civil Legal Aid telephone service.</p>
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