Recommendations & Conclusions
20 items
2
Conclusion
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
There are areas of the country lacking face-to-face provision of legal aid, which risks penalising vulnerable groups disproportionately. Stakeholders have consistently raised the issue of ‘legal aid deserts’ where large geographic areas lack a legal aid provider for specific categories of law. For example, large areas of the South West …
Government response. The government agreed, clarifying that citizens can use LAA tools to find face-to-face providers, and where none exist, LAA may intervene to find a firm or agent. It also committed to improving market intelligence and engaging firms to understand obstacles …
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
We are concerned about access to legal aid for immigration matters which often involve extremely vulnerable people, and the effectiveness of the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme for some of these cases. Organisations including the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association provided evidence to the Committee of a ‘supply crisis’ in the …
Government response. The government agreed, outlining steps to monitor immigration advice capacity by commissioning research into demand monitoring methodology and providing £1.4 million for caseworker accreditation. It also detailed its assessment of the ECF scheme's efficiency, including recent stakeholder engagement and LAA …
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
The Ministry of Justice has been slow to review financial eligibility thresholds, leaving fewer people eligible for legal aid, and it has not set out how it plans to review thresholds in future. One of the aims of MoJ’s 2013 reforms was to target legal aid at those who need …
Government response. The government agreed, committing to review legal aid income and capital thresholds within three to five years of the new means test's full implementation (expected by summer 2026), and prior to implementation using ONS data. It will also seek to …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
The Ministry of Justice has still not made sufficient progress in identifying or addressing wider system costs of its legal aid reforms. Almost a decade ago, this Committee urged MoJ to get a better understanding of the wider costs of its reforms. While MoJ has taken some steps to understand …
Government response. The government agreed, stating it has already implemented the recommendation by engaging with other departments like MHCLG on cost-shunting and local authority funding of immigration advice, and will continue these discussions. It is also assessing cost shifts through early legal …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), and His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) on value for money from legal aid, following reforms to the system in 2013.1 We also …
Government response. The government 'agreed' with this introductory conclusion by reiterating various commitments from other recommendations, including reviewing data on legal aid demand and access, identifying data collection improvements, commissioning research on monitoring demand for immigration legal aid, and assessing the ECF …
HM Treasury
7
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
Neither MoJ nor LAA estimate demand for legally aided services, nor do they capture routine data on whether providers are turning potential clients away.12 MoJ and LAA told us that this was partly because they do not want to place too high a burden on providers by requiring them to …
Government response. MoJ and LAA will review data on demand for and access to legal aid, improve data collection, and consider alternative methods for monitoring access, aiming for implementation by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
8
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
Stakeholders, including the Law Society, have often raised concerns about “legal aid deserts”, where large geographical areas do not have a legal aid provider for a particular category of law.19 For example, 183 local authorities had no legal aid provider office for housing issues in 2022–23, with particular gaps in …
Government response. MoJ and LAA will review the current data collected on demand for and access to legal aid, identify opportunities to make improvements, and consider commissioning independent research, aiming for implementation by Spring 2026.
HM Treasury
10
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
We asked LAA and MoJ how they can be sure that people in areas without face-to face provision can access advice, and what they are doing to assist vulnerable people. This might include people with limited transportation means, those for whom English is a second language or those with a …
Government response. The MoJ acknowledges the need for face-to-face advice and will continue to monitor its usage. Where remote advice is not appropriate, the LAA may intervene directly or via an external organisation.
HM Treasury
11
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
The LASPO reforms significantly reduced the types of immigration cases that are eligible for legal aid. The reforms removed funding for all immigration cases except for asylum cases and a limited number of non-asylum cases, such as immigration detention and applications for leave to remain where the individual is a …
Government response. The LAA will monitor the number of immigration and asylum advice providers, and the MoJ will commission research into a viable methodology for monitoring demand and data collection on legal aid provider challenges; the MoJ has also taken steps to …
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
MoJ said that a shortage of immigration and asylum legal aid providers in some areas is concerning. It told us that it has taken steps to address capacity issues by increasing fees for cases related to the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) by 15% and providing additional funding to meet …
Government response. The LAA will monitor the number of immigration and asylum advice providers, and the MoJ will commission research into a viable methodology for monitoring demand and data collection on legal aid provider challenges; the MoJ has also taken steps to …
HM Treasury
14
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
We asked MoJ whether it thought that the ECF scheme was the appropriate route for immigration cases given that LAA approves around 87% of immigration applications and that this funding is more difficult to access for claimants.35 Evidence also suggests 26 Qq 9–10 27 Q 41 28 C&AG’s Report, Figure …
Government response. The LAA will monitor the number of immigration and asylum advice providers, and the MoJ will commission research into a viable methodology for monitoring demand and data collection on legal aid provider challenges; the MoJ has also taken steps to …
HM Treasury
15
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
Through LASPO MoJ aimed to target legal aid at those who need it most. Aside from scope changes, MoJ can use its financial eligibility criteria to achieve this goal. LAA assesses people’s financial eligibility for legal aid using a means test based on disposable income and capital. LASPO reforms made …
Government response. The MoJ has committed to reviewing income and capital thresholds for legal aid within three to five years of the new means test coming into operation, with full implementation not expected before Summer 2026.
HM Treasury
17
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
MoJ first announced its means test review in 2019 but the review process has taken several years. MoJ wrote to us in March 2024 explaining that while it had implemented some minor changes identified in the review, such as removing means testing for children, it had delayed implementation of the …
Government response. The MoJ has committed to reviewing income and capital thresholds for legal aid within three to five years of the new means test coming into operation, with full implementation expected by Summer 2026 and will consider ONS data when reviewing …
HM Treasury
18
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
When this Committee looked at legal aid in 2015, it noted the lack of analysis MoJ had undertaken of the wider impacts of the reforms on itself and other government departments and stressed that MoJ needed to do more. At the time, MoJ told the Committee that it was not …
Government response. The MoJ will engage with other government departments regarding the impact of legal aid policy changes and has begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.
HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
During this inquiry, we asked MoJ what it had done to look at the impact of reducing the scope of legal aid on other parts of government. While MoJ maintained that it is difficult to get an accurate measure of wider costs to the public sector, it acknowledged that it …
Government response. The MoJ has engaged with other government departments and has begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government as to where changes in legal aid policy may impact on them.
HM Treasury
20
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
MoJ had expected that, following LASPO, more people with family law disputes would use mediation instead of court to resolve their disputes. However the number of legally aided mediation assessments (which determine whether a case is suitable for mediation) fell significantly following the reforms.52 MoJ told us that its mediation …
Government response. The MoJ has engaged with other government departments and has begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government as to where changes in legal aid policy may impact on them.
HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
We asked MoJ and HMCTS what they were doing to improve their understanding of the impact of litigants in person (LIPs) on courts.56 Following reforms, the number of LIPs in family courts increased significantly. Between January and March 2023, in 40% of family disputes around children both parties were LIPs, …
Government response. The MoJ has engaged with other government departments and has begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government as to where changes in legal aid policy may impact on them.
HM Treasury
22
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
MoJ has been slow to initiate and complete its large-scale reviews of the sustainability of civil and criminal legal aid. Lord Bellamy’s review of the criminal legal aid system was published in 2021, eight years after the reforms were introduced. While MoJ has now increased most criminal fees by the …
Government response. The MoJ acknowledges the need to monitor the profitability of legal aid work more regularly and is considering how best to do so, including through collaborative groups and the CLAAB, aiming for implementation by Winter 2024.
HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
MoJ told us that the volume of information it has needed to collect from providers, including surveys on profitability, is the main reason that the reviews have taken so long to complete.63 While MoJ and LAA have collected information on the profitability of providers through these reviews, they do not …
Government response. The MoJ acknowledges the need to monitor the profitability of legal aid work more regularly and is considering how best to do so, including through collaborative groups and the CLAAB, aiming for implementation by Winter 2024.
HM Treasury
24
Recommendation
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f…
Accepted
Maintaining a supply of qualified staff in the legal aid sector is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of legal aid. However, providers continue to raise concerns about their ability to train and recruit new staff.65 Evidence provided by the Law Society described its research which found that low fee rates …
Government response. The MoJ acknowledges the need to monitor the profitability of legal aid work more regularly and is considering how best to do so, including using data from representative groups and gathering evidence through the Review of Civil Legal Aid (RoCLA).
HM Treasury