Loss of early legal advice
Lack of understanding by the Ministry of Justice regarding the impact of removing early legal advice in various areas.
Source spread
Where this theme appears
This theme appears across 3 independent accountability sources, so the source mix matters as much as the headline total.
3 inquiry recs
57 committee recs
4 NAO recs
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Inquiry recommendations(3)
78 — Revise Victims Code for CSA victims
Recommendation: The Ministry of Justice should revise the Victims' Code to make clear that victims and survivors of child sexual abuse must be advised by the police that: 1. They are entitled to seek civil compensation through the civil courts and, …
Gov response: On 16 January 2020, the College of Policing made changes to its Authorised Professional Practice to require police officers to provide victims with information on their rights and entitlements under the Victims' Code. On 16 …
Accepted
98 — Increase use of criminal compensation orders
Recommendation: The Ministry of Justice should consult with the Sentencing Council, the Judicial College, the Crown Prosecution Service and other relevant bodies, in order to increase the use of criminal compensation orders, where appropriate, in cases involving child sexual abuse by, …
Gov response: On 6 April 2020, the Ministry of Justice stated that it had consulted with the Judicial College and the Sentencing Council in respect of implementing guidance for the judiciary in the Crown Court and Magistrates' …
Accepted
LAMI-36 — Require legal advice before emergency child harm action, ensure 24-hour availability
Recommendation: No emergency action on a case concerning an allegation of deliberate harm to a child should be taken without first obtaining legal advice. Local authorities must ensure that such legal advice is available 24 hours a day.
Unknown
Select committee recommendations(57)— showing 50 strongest matches
#48 —
Recommendation: The government must amend the legal aid means test in the magistrates’ court so that anyone charged with an either-way offence with the possibility of a sentence of 12 months or more in custody is subject to the same threshold …
Response Pending
#24 —
Recommendation: The government has acknowledged that, as more cases are dealt with in the magistrates’ courts, a greater proportion of defendants are likely to be ineligible for criminal legal aid than would have been had their case been heard in the …
Response Pending
#16 —
Recommendation: We urge the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency to continue to be creative as to how legal aid is administered so that the legal professions are not further damaged by inflexible processes and contractual requirements on top …
Gov response: The Legal Aid Agency meets with representative bodies on a bi-monthly basis to discuss the operation of the civil and crime legal aid contracts as well as other legal aid processes, including how they may …
Not Addressed
#14 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Ministry of Justice considers further grants for law centres and other not-for-profit legal services providers that are at risk of collapse. The Ministry of Justice should report back to us with its decision and provide its …
Gov response: We agree with the Committee that Law Centres and other not-for profit providers play a vital role in helping people in communities across England and Wales access justice and resolve their legal problems. Over the …
Not Addressed
#9 —
Recommendation: The Legal Aid Agency has made changes to help the legal professions. For example, it has made it easier to claim interim and hardship payments, aligned some fees for remote work with those for in-person work, and halted pursuit of …
Gov response: Turning to the legal aid market, the Ministry of Justice and Legal Aid Agency introduced a range of measures to help legal aid providers to weather the coronavirus pandemic while maintaining access to justice for …
Not Addressed
#7 —
Recommendation: Law centres and other not-for-profit legal advice providers are also at great risk.
Gov response: We agree with the Committee that Law Centres and other not-for profit providers play a vital role in helping people in communities across England and Wales access justice and resolve their legal problems. Over the …
Not Addressed
#6 —
Recommendation: Small high street firms are particularly at risk from the effects of coronavirus restrictions.
Gov response: • The Legal Aid Agency meets with representative bodies on a bi-monthly basis to discuss the operation of the civil and crime legal aid contracts as well as other legal aid processes, including how they …
Under Consideration
#3 —
Recommendation: Publicly funded legal services providers were already under stress before coronavirus.
Gov response: • The Government has introduced a range of measures to support firms and self- employed individuals impacted by Coronavirus. The legal sector has been able to access several of these measures which, alongside the support …
Under Consideration
#24 —
Recommendation: We suggest that the civil legal aid system needs an updated version of the Green Form scheme, which was introduced in 1973, that would allow individuals to understand their rights and be directed to the services that are most appropriate …
Gov response: We are developing an early legal advice pilot, which was a commitment in the Legal Support Action Plan. The pilot will test the impact of early legal advice in social welfare law (specifically focused on …
Not Addressed
#23 —
Recommendation: The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. It is a positive step and recognises that more needs to be done to help separating parents. We believe that if early legal advice was available alongside mediation, this …
Gov response: Since the launch of the Family Mediation Scheme on 26 March 2021, the Family Mediation Council on behalf of the Ministry of Justice has tracked weekly up take of the vouchers and are continuing to …
Not Addressed
#22 —
Recommendation: The Government should consider whether the model of the possession duty scheme should be used in other areas of the civil justice system where there are significant numbers of litigants in person. Non-means tested advice at court on the day …
Gov response: The Government agrees that the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) provides a very effective service for ensuring individuals are properly supported at court when they face the loss of their home. We are currently …
Accepted
#21 —
Recommendation: The Government should take a whole justice system approach to the reform of the civil legal aid framework. The provision of early advice can help to make the courts The Future of Legal Aid 69 work more effectively.
Gov response: recognising that legal aid forms part of a wider system, and the evidence gathered from this pilot will form part of our wider consideration on what the future civil legal aid system should look like. …
Under Consideration
#23 — Stakeholders warn MoJ's actions on legal aid sustainability are insufficient and too slow
Recommendation: Written evidence we received from organisations including the Law Society, Public Law Project and Law Centres Network all raised concerns about whether the actions MoJ has taken to date were sufficient or fast enough to tackle long-term sustainability issues.44 For …
Gov response: 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 5.2 The department recognises that understanding the sustainability of the market and taking steps to support it is important to maintain effective …
Response Pending
#20 — Previous committee highlighted MoJ's slow progress reviewing legal aid system sustainability
Recommendation: Our predecessor Committee’s 2024 report on legal aid stated that MoJ had been slow to initiate and complete its large-scale reviews of the sustainability of both the criminal and civil legal aid systems. It raised particular concerns around the civil …
Gov response: 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 5.2 The department recognises that understanding the sustainability of the market and taking steps to support it is important to maintain effective …
Response Pending
#18 — Ministry of Justice lacks comprehensive understanding of legal aid reforms' impact on local authorities
Recommendation: We asked MoJ what work it had done to better understand the effects of its legal aid reforms on local authorities and their legal advice services. MoJ said that it has surveyed local authorities to understand where they were providing …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The department has written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute response, setting out the results of its survey of local authorities and any …
Response Pending
#17 — MoJ lacks understanding of early legal advice removal and litigant-in-person impacts.
Recommendation: MoJ’s Treasury Minute response indicated that it had begun discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG, or the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as it was then called) to understand whether local authorities were …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The department has written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute response, setting out the results of its survey of local authorities and any …
Accepted
#16 — MoJ's understanding of wider legal aid reform costs remains disappointingly insufficient after a decade.
Recommendation: For a decade, this Committee and its predecessors have urged MoJ to get a better understanding of the wider costs of its legal aid reforms. A 2015 report noted the lack of analysis MoJ had undertaken of the wider impacts …
Gov response: 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The department has written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute response, setting out the results of its survey of local authorities and any …
Response Pending
#5 — Require MoJ to routinely review profitability and sustainability for all types of legal aid.
Recommendation: We remain unconvinced that MoJ has put in place sufficient measures to ensure the future sustainability of the legal aid market. In its 2024 report, this Committee raised concerns that while MoJ was undertaking large scale reviews of both criminal …
Gov response: The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government agrees that incentives on departments for cost reduction and productivity improvements should apply as equally to all services regardless of the funding mechanism. The Government Efficiency …
Not Accepted
#4 — Require MoJ to detail legal aid reform cost impact on local authorities and courts.
Recommendation: More than ten years since the legal aid reforms, MoJ has still not demonstrated a sufficient understanding of the additional costs of legal aid reforms, particularly the impact of litigants in person. A decade ago our predecessors urged MoJ to …
Gov response: The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The government agrees that published information on fees and charges should be improved. This needs to be balanced against the wider aim to reduce the financial reporting burden …
Not Accepted
#47 —
Recommendation: If the magistrates’ court is given the power to hand down sentences of up to 24 months, the discrepancy in the legal aid thresholds between the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court will need to be reformed. (Conclusion, Paragraph 166)
Response Pending
#25 —
Recommendation: While we welcome the minister’s stated intention to ensure that legal aid provision is “as broad as it needs to be”, we are concerned that the government intends to wait until after the bill has passed before determining whether changes …
Response Pending
#15 —
Recommendation: The government should set out its justification for the introduction of loss of time orders and explain why it considers them necessary to deter unmeritorious appeals, given that a permission stage is being introduced. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78)
Response Pending
#14 —
Recommendation: Evidence we received indicates that loss of time orders disproportionately affects those serving short custodial sentences and discourages otherwise meritorious appeals. (Conclusion, Paragraph 77)
Response Pending
#21 —
Recommendation: There is also no systematic approach for capturing learning from upheld appeals, which could otherwise help reduce avoidable demand and unnecessary pressure on the appeals system.49 These issues have been intensified by pressures on the legal aid system, which the …
Response Pending
#22 — Legal aid sustainability remains a concern with fee increases pending ministerial decision
Recommendation: We asked MoJ and LAA for an update on how they were monitoring the sustainability and profitability of legal aid work. MoJ said that it had recently surveyed both criminal and civil legal aid providers and that it was currently …
Gov response: 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 5.2 The department recognises that understanding the sustainability of the market and taking steps to support it is important to maintain effective …
Accepted
#21 — Ministry of Justice lacks concrete plans for routine civil legal aid profitability monitoring
Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response MoJ stated that it was considering how to monitor profitability more regularly. It said that the Independent Criminal Legal Aid Board (CLAAB), established following the review of criminal legal aid, had included discussion of the …
Gov response: 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 5.2 The department recognises that understanding the sustainability of the market and taking steps to support it is important to maintain effective …
Accepted
#19 — Ministry of Justice still lacks sufficient data on litigants in person's impact on courts
Recommendation: On litigants in person, MoJ acknowledged that its data have not been good enough to understand the impact of LIPs on courts. However, it said that its court reform programme, which included the introduction of a common platform in criminal …
Gov response: 4.3 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: October 2026 4.4 The department has written to the Committee, alongside the Treasury Minute response, setting out the current position on data collection for …
Accepted
#13 — MoJ failed to detail alternative legal aid routes for those unable to use remote advice.
Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response to our predecessor’s 2024 report, MoJ acknowledged that while remote advice can be effective, some people will always require face-to-face advice. It said that it had worked with stakeholders to identify safeguards and better understand …
Gov response: 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 …
Accepted
#12 — 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 …
Gov response: 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 …
Response Pending
#3 — Require MoJ and LAA to set out plans for digitally excluded legal aid access and provision.
Recommendation: We are not satisfied that MoJ and the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) are doing enough to ensure that people eligible for legal aid can access it, particularly those who are digitally excluded. This Committee previously raised concerns that LAA’s reliance …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. the new arrangements to reduce the time and complexity of amending fees.
Accepted
#15 —
Recommendation: On 23 June, we asked Robert Buckland about business rates relief, and he suggested that his requests to the Treasury were unlikely to be fulfilled but that he was looking for other imaginative solutions. The Ministry of Justice should consider …
Gov response: The Government has introduced a range of measures to support firms and self-employed individuals impacted by Coronavirus. The legal sector has been able to access several of these measures which, alongside the support from the …
Not Addressed
#11 —
Recommendation: It is important that the legal professions are in good shape to deal with the increase in demand for legal advice and representation that is on the horizon.
Gov response: The Government has introduced a range of measures to support firms and self-employed individuals impacted by Coronavirus. The legal sector has been able to access several of these measures which, alongside the support from the …
Not Addressed
#10 —
Recommendation: The support provided by the Government is welcome, but it cannot compensate for the significant drop-off in the amount of work being done and remove the risk of a collapse in legal services providers. (Paragraph 32) The way ahead
Gov response: The Government has introduced a range of measures to support firms and self-employed individuals impacted by Coronavirus. The legal sector has been able to access several of these measures which, alongside the support from the …
Not Addressed
#5 —
Recommendation: Newly qualified barristers face particular pressure.
Gov response: • We agree with the Committee that Law Centres and other not-for profit providers play a vital role in helping people in communities across England and Wales access justice and resolve their legal problems. Over …
Accepted
#28 —
Recommendation: We recognise that the Government is making progress in improving legal support and information for litigants in person, but we caution the Government that such measures should not be seen as an alternative to tailored legal advice. We are aware …
Gov response: In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This …
Not Addressed
#25 —
Recommendation: The weight of evidence, however, is that inaction on the rising number of litigants in person is not an option. Many of the policy responses to the issue involve increasing the resources of the courts or other agencies involved in …
Gov response: In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This …
Not Addressed
#28 —
Recommendation: We have recommended in this Report that the Government set up a properly resourced independent intermediary to assist sub-postmasters seeking to overturn convictions and seek compensation. We recommend that this same body should also be tasked with assisting sub-postmasters who …
Gov response: As noted in Recommendation 2, the Government is supportive of the intention behind the recommendation but is concerned that the time needed to set up such an independent body is likely to lead to additional …
Partially Accepted
#4 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government urgently set up an independent intermediary body as a trusted first point of contact for those wrongly convicted because of Horizon, in particular for the 576 convicted sub-postmasters who have not yet come forward. The …
Gov response: Although supportive of the intent behind the recommendation, the Government does not propose to set up a new independent body to undertake these functions. The Government is keen to see work to trace and support …
Partially Accepted
#10 —
Recommendation: The Government has not properly implemented Sir Wyn Williams’s recommendation to provide legal advice for HSS claimants. Sub- postmasters have already waited far too long for the redress they are owed. Requiring sub-postmasters to progress through the HSS without 39 …
Response Pending
#9 — Remote legal aid provision's suitability for vulnerable groups remains unclear without data.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2026 1.2 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the supply and distribution of providers; holds regular qualitative discussions with providers which includes their …
Not Addressed
#8 — Persistent "legal aid deserts" reduce face-to-face access to legal aid services nationwide.
Recommendation: Stakeholders, including the Law Society, have often raised concerns about “legal aid deserts”, where large geographical areas do not have a legal aid provider for a particular category of law.19 For example, 183 local authorities had no legal aid provider …
Gov response: 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2026 1.2 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the supply and distribution of providers; holds regular qualitative discussions with providers which includes their …
Accepted
#7 — Legal aid agencies lack demand and capacity data, hindering understanding of access issues.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2026 1.2 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the supply and distribution of providers; holds regular qualitative discussions with providers which includes their …
Accepted
#4 — Ensure financial eligibility thresholds for legal aid are routinely reviewed and swiftly implemented.
Recommendation: The Ministry of Justice has been slow to review financial eligibility thresholds, leaving fewer people eligible for legal aid, and it has not set out how it plans to review thresholds in future. One of the aims of MoJ’s 2013 …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. reviewing income and capital thresholds for legal aid within three to five years of the new means test coming into operation (full implementation is not expected before Summer …
Accepted
#3 — Monitor Illegal Migration Act's impact and assess Exceptional Case Funding efficiency for immigration.
Recommendation: We are concerned about access to legal aid for immigration matters which often involve extremely vulnerable people, and the effectiveness of the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme for some of these cases. Organisations including the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association provided …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. offices. It takes actions available to them when potential issues appear. For example, the LAA customer service team is working to support those direct applicants that may not …
Accepted
#13 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Ministry of Justice considers the Law Society’s detailed proposals for payment and repayment of monthly payments (to solicitors firms and not-for-profit providers) and that the Ministry of Justice reports back to us on whether it decides …
Gov response: The Government has carefully considered the Law Society’s proposals. However providers of Legal Aid are affected differently according to their business model. The Standard Monthly Payment (SMP) is utilised only by a small proportion of …
Not Addressed
#8 —
Recommendation: The furlough scheme has been very useful, with both solicitors’ firms and barristers’ chambers using it to reduce staff costs. We heard that the loan schemes were less helpful, particularly for small high street firms.
Gov response: In response to the pandemic, the Government announced an unprecedented package of support measures to assist those impacted by Coronavirus. Legal practitioners and firms have been able to access support from the Self-Employed Income Support …
Not Addressed
#27 —
Recommendation: We welcome steps to support litigants in person. We encourage the Government to consider whether the scale of these projects and grants should be increased.
Gov response: In February 2019, as part of our Legal Support Action Plan, we announced we would increase our total funding for services supporting litigants in person to £3 million a year from 2020 to 2022. This …
Not Addressed
#26 —
Recommendation: It is deeply troubling, given the historical nature of Horizon, its complexity as a flawed IT system and in many cases a lack of records, that some claimants seem 26 Post Office and Horizon - Compensationn interim report to be …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation and has agreed with the Post Office that it will publish this information on its website,3 subject to the caveats regarding privacy outlined below. This includes the information requested …
Accepted
#11 —
Recommendation: We welcome the fact that individuals appealing their awards under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals (HSSA) process are able to access funded legal advice, and we support the continuation of this provision. However, we are concerned that this should not …
Response Pending
#15 — HMCTS reforms' impact on vulnerable users' access to justice remains inadequately understood.
Recommendation: HMCTS’s reforms are wide-ranging and have the potential to impact access to justice for a range of users, including vulnerable people. In both 2018 and 2019, we raised concerns that HMCTS had not sufficiently demonstrated that it understood how reforms …
Gov response: 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 3.2 HMCTS already obtains and uses regular feedback on how services are impacting users, for instance, through surveys embedded throughout the digital application process and …
Accepted
NAO audit recommendations(4)
Government’s management of legal aid
MoJ should work with others to improve its understanding of the costs and benefits of legal issues removed from scope during legal aid reforms, to ensure that changes have not led to less efficient public spending. MoJ should focus on …
Accepted
Government’s management of legal aid
MoJ should work with others to improve its understanding of the costs and benefits of legal issues removed from scope during legal aid reforms, to ensure that changes have not led to less efficient public spending. MoJ should focus on …
Accepted
Government’s management of legal aid
MoJ should work with others to improve its understanding of the costs and benefits of legal issues removed from scope during legal aid reforms, to ensure that changes have not led to less efficient public spending. MoJ should focus on …
Rejected
Transforming courts and tribunals: a progress update
• set out what other sources of information it will use to assess ‘access to justice’ alongside travel time; and
Accepted