Recommendation 15

LAA did, however, acknowledge that there are still gaps in securing sufficient provision of legal aid across the country, particularly for housing and debt advice.30 MoJ explained that LAA is currently meeting its standard of ensuring there is at least one provider for the different types of legal aid (five providers for family cases) in each of its procurement areas, except for housing and debt where 19 areas lack face-to-face provision. It stated that LAA has worked to ensure that seven of these areas are supported through outreach arrangements with neighbouring areas, which it is working to replicate in the remaining areas.31 Written evidence we received from Public Law Project stressed that LAA’s capacity assessments are based on a relatively low level of coverage in each procurement area, not on how active or effective coverage is in each area.32 Understanding the wider costs of legal aid reforms