Recommendation 7

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 submit additional data.13 But this means that they do not have a good overall view of the impact of providers’ capacity on access to legal aid. Evidence indicates that it is getting harder to obtain legal aid and that providers cannot meet demand. MoJ’s survey of civil providers in September 2023 found that 80% were experiencing more demand than capacity, and among those providers an average of 26 eligible cases each were turned away in the month preceding the survey.14 This supports other evidence received by this Committee. For example, the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice, a charity that provides free legal advice to parents and carers of children with special educational needs, informed us that in over 20% of the cases they supported, the person was eligible for legal aid but had been unable to find a provider.15 Similarly, MoJ is aware of criminal cases where clients did not take legal advice due to no duty solicitor being available.16 Further, the Law Society provided examples of cases where 8 Qq 11, 32–33 9 C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 10 Q 5 11 Qq 39–40, 55 12 C&AG’s Report, para 2.10 13 Q 25 14 Survey of civil legal aid providers in England and Wales, January 2024 15 VMLA0005 16 C&AG’s Report, para 2.21 Value for Money from Legal Aid 11 suspects have been released from a police station as there is no duty solicitor available to represent them.17 They also noted that it was unclear how many people initially request a duty solicitor but do not receive one.18 Impact of gaps in provision of legal aid on disadvantaged groups