Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Value for Money from Legal Aid

Status: Closed Opened: 10 Jan 2024 Closed: 28 May 2024 19 recommendations 5 conclusions 1 report

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO), implemented in 2013, significantly reduced the scope of legal aid in England and Wales, which provides legal services for those who are eligible, largely those who cannot afford to pay. LASPO succeeded in helping reduce the scheme’s expenditure from approximately £2.9bn in 2012-13 to around …

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money from Legal Aid	HC 481	24 May 2024	24	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items

9 Conclusion Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f… Not Addressed

Remote legal aid provision's suitability for vulnerable groups remains unclear without data.

LAA explained that for some places where there are local gaps in legal aid providers, people could seek remote advice from providers elsewhere in the country, providers in neighbouring areas or via its telephone service. MoJ stated there were some benefits of remote provision for many in providing a more …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2026. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the supply and distribution of providers; holds regular qualitative discussions with providers which includes their workload; and liaises with the Ministry of …

HM Treasury

13 Conclusion Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f… Not Addressed

Exceptional Case Funding for immigration suffers severe provider capacity issues

The government also runs a separate Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme for legal aid, intended as a safety net to provide legal aid for people whose human rights would be breached without it.32 Immigration cases that are no longer within scope of legal aid may still be eligible for legal …

Government response. The government response addresses a separate recommendation about access to legal aid for immigration matters and the ECF scheme, not the initial conclusion regarding challenges in finding a legal aid provider.

HM Treasury

16 Conclusion Thirty-Third Report - Value for Money f… Not Addressed

Wage inflation significantly reduced legal aid eligibility, making minimum wage earners often ineligible

Considerable wage inflation means the proportion of the population now eligible for legal aid has fallen. From 2012–13 to 2020–21, the proportion of UK income taxpayers eligible for civil legal aid decreased by 11 percentage points (73% to 62%). There was also a 16 percentage point decrease in those whose …

Government response. The government response addresses a separate recommendation about reviewing financial eligibility thresholds and doesn't acknowledge the initial conclusion about considerable wage inflation.

HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session

Date	Witnesses
25 Mar 2024	Antonia Romeo · Ministry of Justice, Jane Harbottle · Legal Aid Agency, Jason Latham · HM Courts and Tribunals Service, Jerome Glass · Ministry of Justice	View ↗

Correspondence

8 letters

Date	Direction	Title
21 May 2024	—	Correspondence from Richard Price, Director General – Performance, Strategy and…
20 May 2024	—	Correspondence from Richard Orpin, Interim CEO, Legal Services Board, re Legal …
15 Apr 2024	—	Correspondence from Jane Harbottle, Chief Executive, Legal Aid Agency, re Publi…
15 Apr 2024	—	Correspondence from Jerome Glass, Director General, Policy, Ministry of Justice…
15 Apr 2024	—	Correspondence from Nick Goodwin, Chief Executive, HM Courts & Tribunals Servic…
15 Apr 2024	—	Correspondence from Jane Harbottle, Chief Executive, Legal Aid Agency, re Publi…
15 Apr 2024	—	Correspondence from Nick Goodwin, Chief Executive, HM Courts & Tribunals Servic…
18 Mar 2024	—	Correspondence from Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for…