The Future of Legal Aid
Justice Committee
Closed
Inquiry
This inquiry is looking at the major challenges facing legal aid clients and providers and how they might be tackled. The legal aid system in England and Wales was fundamentally changed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LAPSO). Since then, there have been several legislative …
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32
Recommendations
11
Conclusions
1
Report
20
Letters
4
Events
Activity timeline 22 events
21 Feb
2023
2023
21 Feb
2023
2023
7 Feb
2023
2023
25 Jan
2023
2023
6 Dec
2022
2022
8 Sep
2022
2022
25 May
2022
2022
15 Mar
2022
2022
16 Nov
2021
2021
16 Nov
2021
2021
27 Jul
2021
2021
Report published
23 Jul
2021
2021
Correspondence
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid | HC 70 | 27 Jul 2021 | 43 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
9 results
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
It is frustrating, and yet unsurprising, that many of the concerns raised over the operation...
It is frustrating, and yet unsurprising, that many of the concerns raised over the operation of the civil legal aid system by our predecessor Committee in 2015, and by Government’s post-implementation review in 2019, have been highlighted in evidence to …
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Government Response
The government recognises the recurring nature of concerns regarding civil legal aid. It states that some policy changes have already been delivered, and work on others (e.g., exceptional case funding, early legal advice pilot) is progressing, though delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ministry of Justice
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21
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
The Government should take a whole justice system approach to the reform of the civil...
The Government should take a whole justice system approach to the reform of the civil legal aid framework. The provision of early advice can help to make the courts The Future of Legal Aid 69 work more effectively.
Government Response
The government acknowledges that legal aid is part of a wider system and states that evidence from an unspecified pilot will inform its wider consideration of the future civil legal aid system.
Ministry of Justice
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23
Conclusion
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. It is a positive step and recognises that more needs to be done to help separating parents. We believe that if early legal advice was available alongside mediation, this …
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Government Response
The government notes the positive reception of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme and commits to continued monitoring. It states that the sustainability of civil legal aid market work is considering the scope of early legal help, but does not commit to making it available alongside mediation.
Ministry of Justice
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33
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
Civil legal aid, like criminal legal aid, needs the Government to take decisive action to...
Civil legal aid, like criminal legal aid, needs the Government to take decisive action to change the approach set by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 at the start of the last decade. Without such a …
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Government Response
The government acknowledges the need for change by stating it is already considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid system and its future structure.
Ministry of Justice
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34
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
The Government should collect and publish more detailed data on the providers of civil legal...
The Government should collect and publish more detailed data on the providers of civil legal aid, in particular it should capture how much publicly funded work each provider is doing each year.
Government Response
The government states it is working on improving data collection regarding the characteristics of civil legal aid providers as part of its market sustainability work, but does not explicitly commit to collecting and publishing more detailed data on publicly funded work per provider.
Ministry of Justice
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35
Conclusion
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
Sustainability issues for civil legal aid providers are sufficiently serious to justify a complete overhaul...
Sustainability issues for civil legal aid providers are sufficiently serious to justify a complete overhaul of the system. A number of witnesses have highlighted that a combination of number of fundamental problems rather than one or two specific issues contribute …
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Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of civil legal aid sustainability and is continuing to consider the best internal approach, committing to engage with stakeholders on next steps in due course.
Ministry of Justice
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36
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
The basis for the radical change required in civil legal aid requires the Government to...
The basis for the radical change required in civil legal aid requires the Government to establish the level of need for civil legal aid services in England and Wales. Once that is established, the Government needs to ensure that suppliers …
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Government Response
The government states it is already considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market and how to support the workforce, including "consideration of funded posts within legal aid providers including the funding of training contracts". It also highlights ongoing digital improvements by the LAA, such as the development of the "Apply" online tool.
Ministry of Justice
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37
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
However, it is not a question of simply raising fees, but rather making better use...
However, it is not a question of simply raising fees, but rather making better use of the resources available. We believe that the best way of ensuring value of money is to focus on expanding the capacity of those providers …
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Government Response
The government states it is internally considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market and whether different funding models might be appropriate, but does not commit to using Section 2 of LASPO for direct grants.
Ministry of Justice
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43
Recommendation
Acknowledged
3rd Report - The Future of Legal A…
If the Government were to accept the recommendations we have made on how to approach...
If the Government were to accept the recommendations we have made on how to approach criminal and civil legal aid it will be necessary to address the Legal Agency Aid’s priorities, its institutional capacity and how it uses its resources. …
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Government Response
The government states the MoJ and LAA will continue to collaborate to identify opportunities for data expansion, without committing to specific changes in collection or publication.
Ministry of Justice
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Correspondence 20 letters
21 Feb 2023
To committee
Letter from Mike Freer MP, Minister for Courts, Legal Services and International, dated 9 February 2023, follow up from the session on 17 January 2023
Parliament page
21 Feb 2023
From committee
Letter to Mike Freer MP, Minister for Courts, Legal Services and International, dated 24 January 2023, follow up from the session on 17 January 2023
Parliament page
7 Feb 2023
To committee
Letter from Lubna Shuja, President of the Law Society, dated 30 January 2023, following the evidence session on 17 January
Parliament page
25 Jan 2023
To committee
Letter from Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair, Criminal Bar Association, dated 9 January 2023, on criminal legal aid
Parliament page
6 Dec 2022
To committee
Letter from Mike Freer MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, dated 30 November 2022, on the Government's full response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review
Parliament page
8 Sep 2022
To committee
Letter from Sarah Dines MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, dated 15 August 2022, on legal aid follow-up
Parliament page
25 May 2022
To committee
Letter from the Bar Council, dated 24 May 2022, regarding income disparities at the Bar
Parliament page
15 Mar 2022
To committee
Letter from the Lord Chancellor, dated 14 March 2022, on the legal aid means test review and independent review of criminal legal aid
Parliament page
16 Nov 2021
From committee
Letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor on the response to the Future of Legal Aid Report, 16 November 2021
Parliament page
23 Jul 2021
Family Law Roundtable Transcript 14 December 2020
Parliament page
24 Feb 2021
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, dated 9 February 2021, regarding transfer of civil legal aid bills of costs to Legal Aid Agency
Parliament page
3 Feb 2021
To committee
Letter from Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, dated 28 January 2021, on criminal legal aid review
Parliament page
27 Jan 2021
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 20 January 2021, regarding full awarding of the legal support for litigants in person grant
Parliament page
13 Jan 2021
To committee
Letter from Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice, dated 21 December 2020, regarding Criminal Legal Aid Review Phase II Independent Review
Parliament page
4 Nov 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 29 October 2020, regarding MoJ funding for not for profit providers of legal advice
Parliament page
23 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 16 September 2020 regarding Civil Legal Aid: Renumeration
Parliament page
9 Sep 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, dated 21 August 2020, regarding an accelerated package of measures amending criminal legal aid fee schemes
Parliament page
22 May 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 18 May 2020, regarding legal aid fees for asylum and immigration appeals
Parliament page
28 Apr 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 20 April 2020, regarding Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2012
Parliament page
28 Apr 2020
To committee
Letter from Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, dated 23 April 2020, relating to launch of £3.1 million legal support for litigants in person grant
Parliament page