Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Deferred
Legal aid deserts' and remote advice disproportionately exclude vulnerable groups from justice.
Recommendation
Our predecessor Committee’s May 2024 report on legal aid in England and Wales raised concerns around access to legal aid advice in areas of the country lacking face-to-face provision of legal aid. Where there are gaps in provision MoJ and LAA often rely on remote advice to fill the gaps. The Committee stressed that ‘legal aid deserts’, large geographic areas without legal aid providers, risk disproportionately penalising groups that cannot access remote advice. Groups affected can include people with a disability or those who have limited access to technology.25 Written evidence we received from the Law Society pointed to research which suggests that millions of people across the UK are digitally excluded (around 24% of the population).26 The Committee recommended in 2024 that MoJ and LAA should clarify what options are available for those unable to make use of remote advice and set out how it plans to better understand the impact of remote provision.27
Government Response Summary
The MoJ commenced a civil demand feasibility study with Ipsos to identify options for the routine monitoring of demand for civil legal aid and will report by the end of March 2026 and the department will report back to the Committee on progress against that plan in October 2026.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 3.2 The Committee’s report notes that the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has begun to explore what it can do to remove barriers to providers meeting with clients face-to face and the department can report that work is starting to increase the department’s understanding of demand, including from digitally excluded individuals 3.3 In December 2025, the MoJ commenced a civil demand feasibility study with Ipsos, to identify options for the routine monitoring of demand for civil legal aid. This includes considering demand from vulnerable cohorts such as the digitally excluded. This study will report by the end of March 2026. 3.4 The department is pursuing a programme to transform the delivery of legal aid services, with a focus on the user experience of accessing legal aid. As part of this, MoJ and the LAA will build modernised digital systems that will enable better capture management information about user access to legal aid. However, improved “non-digital” routes for potential clients to access legal aid services will also be built. As part of this, alongside user research, the department will engage with organisations that work to fix the digital divide and explore best practice across government. The department will report back to the Committee on progress against that plan in October 2026.