Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Acknowledged
Improve timely response to legal aid market sustainability issues and implement fee reviews.
Recommendation
We are not convinced that the Ministry of Justice has put in place sufficient measures to ensure the future sustainability of the legal aid market. MoJ has been slow to initiate and complete its large-scale sustainability reviews of both criminal and civil legal aid. While its review of criminal legal aid is complete, it has yet to implement some of the changes. Of particular concern is the civil legal 8 Value for Money from Legal Aid aid sector as MoJ will not complete its review of the sector until July 2024, despite not increasing fees for the last 28 years. Before these reviews, MoJ and LAA did not collect the routine data needed to respond to sustainability issues proactively. Low fees can impact firms’ ability to train and recruit new staff and impact their long-term sustainability. MoJ has assured the Committee that the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board will be able to make recommendations to ensure that criminal legal aid fees are reviewed more regularly in future. But it has not yet set out similar arrangements for the continued review of civil legal aid fees. Recommendation 6: The Ministry of Justice should set out in its Treasury Minute response how it plans to improve its ability to respond to emerging sustainability issues in a timely manner. This should include: • how it plans to work with providers to keep the profitability of legal aid work in view; • how it plans to implement the recommendations from the Criminal Legal Aid Board; and • what mechanisms it will put in place to review the sustainability of civil legal aid more routinely once its review is complete in July 2024. Value for Money from Legal Aid 9 1 Access to legal aid
Government Response Summary
The government agreed, but provided vague commitments on several points. It is 'considering how best' to work with providers on profitability. It noted CLAAB's advice on criminal legal aid is 'not binding' but assessed. For civil legal aid, it described current evidence gathering for the RoCLA, with findings under consideration and future decisions on routine review mechanisms pending for ministers.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. but acknowledges the recommendation to monitor it more regularly, and is considering how best to do this alongside providers. As part of the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), a detailed financial survey was conducted. Following CLAIR, the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board (CLAAB) was established. CLAAB is independently chaired and attended by the main practitioner representative groups. Previous meetings have included discussion of criminal legal aid data to give an outline of the current market position. CLAAB provides valuable advice to the Lord Chancellor on the operation and structure of criminal legal aid fee schemes and assesses how these schemes should change and modernise. However, CLAAB is independent of MoJ and the Lord Chancellor and its recommendations are not binding, but assessed alongside other considerations. The Review of Civil Legal Aid’s (RoCLA) evidence-gathering phase sought to collect profitability information to support policy development. MoJ collaborated with The Law Society to receive data from their quantitative research on the profitability of housing and family providers. MoJ also conducted a survey of civil legal aid providers, in which responders reported whether they are loss-making, breaking even, or profit-making, and of those who are profit-making, responders reported approximate profit margins. This survey received responses from 228 providers and gained representation across all categories of law and regions. The findings of this work, alongside other evidence from RoCLA, are being considered. Any subsequent decisions will be for ministers.