Ministry of Justice follow-up: Autumn 2025

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 10 Jul 2025 Parliament page
The Public Accounts Committee will be following up recent scrutiny with the Ministry of Justice in autumn 2025, on various topics. The PAC’s 2024 report into legal aid expressed deep concerns about MoJ’s and the Legal Aid Agency’s lack of curiosity on the impact of decreasing numbers of providers on … Read more
16 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
6 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 10 events
1 Apr
2026
Report published
12 Mar
2026
Correspondence
8 Jan
2026
Correspondence
7 Jan
2026
Report published
17 Nov
2025
Correspondence
17 Nov
2025
Correspondence
28 Oct
2025
Correspondence
23 Oct
2025
Oral evidence
23 Oct
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
17 Jul
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
23 Oct 2025
View on parliament.uk
Adrian Hannell · Ministry of Justice Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE · Ministry of Justice Gemma Hewison · Ministry of Justice Jane Harbottle · Legal Aid Agency Jim Barton · HM Prisons and Probation Service
Title HC No. Published Items Response
59th Report - Ministry of Justice follow-up: Autumn 2025 HC 1240 7 Jan 2026 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
12 results
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Require MoJ and LAA to set out plans for digitally excluded legal aid access and provision.
We are not satisfied that MoJ and the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) are doing enough to ensure that people eligible for legal aid can access it, particularly those who are digitally excluded. This Committee previously raised concerns that LAA’s reliance … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, detailing a civil demand feasibility study with Ipsos (reporting March 2026) to monitor access for digitally excluded individuals and a programme to transform legal aid services. To close provision gaps, they are injecting £20m into the sector and have secured outreach in 8 of 21 areas, with further market engagement and a report back by Autumn 2026.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Require MoJ to detail legal aid reform cost impact on local authorities and courts.
More than ten years since the legal aid reforms, MoJ has still not demonstrated a sufficient understanding of the additional costs of legal aid reforms, particularly the impact of litigants in person. A decade ago our predecessors urged MoJ to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and states it has already written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute, providing the results of its local authority survey and planned investigations. It also committed to writing to the Committee in October 2026 to detail how it will improve data and analysis on the impact of litigants in person.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Require MoJ to routinely review profitability and sustainability for all types of legal aid.
We remain unconvinced that MoJ has put in place sufficient measures to ensure the future sustainability of the legal aid market. In its 2024 report, this Committee raised concerns that while MoJ was undertaking large scale reviews of both criminal … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and is undertaking a feasibility study with Ipsos to establish a repeatable methodology for monitoring legal aid demand and market sustainability. They will also explore options to routinely monitor the profitability of legal aid firms and will provide an update to the Committee in October 2026.
HM Treasury
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6 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Require MoJ and LAA to detail cyberattack lessons and funding for system vulnerabilities.
Despite lessons learned from the cyberattack on the LAA, funding to address weaknesses across MoJ systems is uncertain. Vulnerabilities in LAA’s systems had been on MoJ’s risk register since 2021. However, MoJ’s investment of over £50 million to transform and … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation, detailing numerous ways lessons learned from the cyberattack have been shared across government. It also confirms that funding has been allocated for the transformation of LAA systems for 2026-2029, alongside continuous security reviews.
HM Treasury
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13 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
MoJ failed to detail alternative legal aid routes for those unable to use remote advice.
In its Treasury Minute response to our predecessor’s 2024 report, MoJ acknowledged that while remote advice can be effective, some people will always require face-to-face advice. It said that it had worked with stakeholders to identify safeguards and better understand … Read more
Government Response
The MoJ will explore removing barriers to providers meeting clients face-to-face, increase understanding of demand from digitally excluded individuals, and report back to the Committee in October 2026.
HM Treasury
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14 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
LAA explores contract barriers and funds travel to improve legal aid access for vulnerable.
We asked MoJ and LAA for an update on what they are doing to ensure that different groups can access legal aid, particularly those for whom remote advice may not be suitable. LAA explained that since the previous Committee’s evidence … Read more
Government Response
The MoJ will explore removing barriers to providers meeting clients face-to-face, increase understanding of demand from digitally excluded individuals, and report back to the Committee in October 2026.
HM Treasury
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17 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
MoJ lacks understanding of early legal advice removal and litigant-in-person impacts.
MoJ’s Treasury Minute response indicated that it had begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG, or the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as it was then called) to understand whether local authorities were … Read more
Government Response
The department has written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute response, setting out the results of its survey of local authorities and any further investigations planned.
HM Treasury
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19 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Ministry of Justice still lacks sufficient data on litigants in person's impact on courts
On litigants in person, MoJ acknowledged that its data have not been good enough to understand the impact of LIPs on courts. However, it said that its court reform programme, which included the introduction of a common platform in criminal … Read more
Government Response
The department will improve data and analysis regarding litigants in person, and will write to the Committee in October 2026 setting out the current position on data collection for litigants in person, and the department’s intention to write to the Committee in October 2026 setting out how the department will improve data and analysis.
HM Treasury
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21 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Ministry of Justice lacks concrete plans for routine civil legal aid profitability monitoring
In its Treasury Minute response MoJ stated that it was considering how to monitor profitability more regularly. It said that the Independent Criminal Legal Aid Board (CLAAB), established following the review of criminal legal aid, had included discussion of the … Read more
Government Response
The department will explore options to routinely monitor the profitability of legal aid firms, improve the management information collected on demand with the support of Ipsos, and provide an update in October 2026.
HM Treasury
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22 Recommendation Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Legal aid sustainability remains a concern with fee increases pending ministerial decision
We asked MoJ and LAA for an update on how they were monitoring the sustainability and profitability of legal aid work. MoJ said that it had recently surveyed both criminal and civil legal aid providers and that it was currently … Read more
Government Response
The department will explore options to routinely monitor the profitability of legal aid firms, improve the management information collected on demand with the support of Ipsos, and provide an update in October 2026.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
Legal Aid Agency cyberattack went undetected for four months before system shutdown
MoJ and LAA acknowledged that the cyberattack on LAA’s online digital services began in December 2024, four months before the LAA detected the attack on 23 April 2025.46 LAA explained that in April, it took action to boost the security … Read more
Government Response
The MoJ and LAA have already identified and shared lessons from the attack through several routes including internally across MoJ, with Permanent Secretaries, to the cross-government data practitioners’ network and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) Impact Coordination Group, as well as writing to the HMG Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) network.
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion Accepted
59th Report - Ministry of Justice …
MoJ acknowledges system vulnerabilities, but acceleration depends on Spending Review funding
We asked MoJ whether the public could have confidence that data stored across MoJ’s systems is safe, following the attack. MoJ stated that it has comprehensively reviewed all of its systems to understand where vulnerabilities lie. It stated that its … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's recommendation and states the MoJ and LAA have already identified and shared lessons from the cyberattack through various routes, including internal committees, cross-government meetings, and the National Cyber Security Centre.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 16 classified
Accepted 12
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 10
Deferred 4
Total 16 recs + 11 conclusions
Correspondence 6 letters
12 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to recommendation 4 of the Committee’s Report on Ministry of Justice follow-up: Autumn 2025, 27 February 2026
Parliament page
8 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to Ministry of Justice follow-up: Autumn 2025, 11 December 2025
Parliament page
17 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the transcript of the Committee’s evidence session on 23 October 2025 (Follow-Up: Autumn 2025), 06 November 2025
Parliament page
17 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the transcript of the Committee’s evidence session on 23 October 2025 (Follow-Up: Autumn 2025), 06 November 2025
Parliament page
28 Oct 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and associated papers relating to HMP Dartmoor, 21 October 2025
Parliament page
17 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the follow up on PAC reports and implementation actions, 15 July 2025
Parliament page