Employment Rights Bill
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
The Government convened a series of constructive conversations between trade unions and business representatives. On the basis of the outcome of these discussions, the Government will now move forward on the issue of unfair dismissal protections in the Employment Rights Bill to ensure it can reach Royal Assent and keep to the Government’s published delivery timeline.
This will mean delivering day one rights to sick pay and paternity leave in April 2026 as well as launching the fair work agency. Reforms to benefit millions of working people, including some of the lowest paid workers, would otherwise be significantly delayed if the Bill does not reach Royal Assent in line with our delivery timetable. Businesses too need time to prepare for what are a series of significant changes.
The discussions concluded that reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from 24 months to 6 months—whilst maintaining existing day one protection against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal—is a workable package. It will benefit millions of working people who will gain new rights and offer business and employers much needed clarity. To further strengthen these protections, the Government have committed to ensure that the unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be varied by primary legislation and that the compensation cap will be lifted.
As a result of these constructive conversations, we have agreed a way forward with trade unions and business representatives who agree that the Bill should progress to Royal Assent as soon as possible. We will table the necessary amendments to deliver the Bill. Furthermore, the Government have reiterated their commitment to full, fair and transparent consultation on the detail and application of the secondary legislation as they move to implement the Bill. This will enable the Government to deliver the necessary consultations and implementation in line with their timetable and manifesto commitments to make work pay.
We will not build a robust and growing economy through employment insecurity. Instead, we are building an economy based on fair competition between businesses, greater productivity in the workplace, job security for workers, and fair reward for hard work. Once implemented, these important and popular reforms will give long overdue new rights to working people, including:
Ending exploitative zero-hours contracts that leave some workers unable to plan their working lives or manage their family finances, saving them up to £600 in lost income from the hidden costs of insecure work;
Establishing bereavement leave as a day one entitlement and extending it to those who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, giving the hundreds of thousands of families affected each year the recognition and protections they deserve;
Supporting working parents to juggle the competing demands of work and raising children, including the 32,000 fathers and partners per year who are not entitled to paternity leave and the 1.5 million parents who are not allowed to take unpaid parental leave;
Helping more working mothers stay in their jobs, including the 4,000 women who are unfairly sacked each year when returning from maternity leave;
Guaranteeing workers get paid when they have to take time off because of illness and expanding statutory sick pay to up to 1.3 million of the most vulnerable workers in society who currently earn below the lower earnings limit;
Reinstating the school support staff negotiating body to improve pay and conditions for up to 800,000 school support staff in England;
Providing for the establishment of a fair pay agreements process in the adult social care sector in England and social care sectors in Scotland and Wales; and
Creating a single point of contact for advice and help for businesses and employees—the fair work agency—to ensure better understanding of people’s rights at work, ensure best practice for implementing employment law, and tackle the unfair competition that some bad employers use to beat their competitors.
The Government were pleased to facilitate these discussions and to set an example of the benefits of working together, and remain committed to continue engaging with trade unions, business and employers to make working lives better, support businesses and, vitally, deliver economic growth and good job creation. The Government are particularly aware of the need to support small businesses in the effective adoption of these changes. Constructive dialogue and full consultation with business, employers and unions will continue beyond the passage of the Bill.
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Mozambique LNG: UK Export Finance Withdrawal
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Peter Kyle)
In 2020, the Government committed UK Export Finance support for the Mozambique liquified natural gas project operated by TotalEnergies. Mozambique LNG was paused in 2021 when force majeure was called due to the deteriorating local security situation and the terrorist insurgency. In preparation to restart the project, UKEF was presented with a proposal to amend the financing terms it had agreed originally. There has been much media speculation on this matter, and I am now able to address the subject and update members of the House. After a detailed review, the UK Government have decided to end UKEF’s participation in the project.
My officials have evaluated the risks around the project, and it is the view of His Majesty’s Government that these risks have increased since 2020. This view is based on a comprehensive assessment of the project and the interests of UK taxpayers, which are best served by ending our participation in the project at this time. While these decisions are never easy, the Government believe that UK financing of this project will not advance the interests of our country.
UKEF has over 100 years’ track record as a reliable financing partner in support of UK exports and exporters. The decision to end participation in Mozambique LNG at this time is specific to this project and made with the agreement of the project sponsors and other participants. UK Export Finance will reimburse the project for the premium paid, reflecting the end of the Department’s risk exposure to the project.
The Government remain committed to backing British exporters, including through support from UKEF, as we have set out in our industrial and trade strategies. We also remain committed to our national partnership with Mozambique and building long-term respectful relationships with African countries to boost sustainable growth, tackle the climate crisis and address insecurity.
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UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Chris Bryant)
The UK and US met virtually to continue talks on the UK-US economic prosperity deal during November 2025. Discussions included areas across the scope of the EPD set out in the 8 May general terms, including tariffs and non-tariff barriers, digital and services. Constructive talks continued on US section 232 investigations, including pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks.
Thanks to the EPD, the UK remains the only country in the world to benefit from a preferential 25% rate on steel, aluminium and derivative exports to the US, a special 10% tariff on cars, as well as receiving preferential treatment for lumber products, with the lowest tariff rate of any country in the world at 10%. Other countries face tariffs of up to 50%.
The UK and US will continue negotiations across the range of issues outlined in the general terms for the EPD.
The US is the UK’s largest single country trading partner with a trading relationship worth some £331 billion in the 12 months to June 2025. UK firms employ some 1.2 million US workers while 1.4 million people work here in the UK for American companies. We have £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies. The EPD will continue to deliver on saving thousands of jobs, protecting key British industries, and helping to drive economic growth.
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UK-EU Relations
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)
At the first ever UK-EU summit on 19 May, the Government agreed a new strategic partnership with the EU—a partnership to boost the prosperity, safety and security of both our peoples, and to help strengthen Europe-wide defences.
We have made good progress since May, with negotiations ongoing to implement these commitments, including on energy co-operation, youth experience, education, judicial co-operation and law enforcement. In the past fortnight, we also launched negotiations on a food and drink deal and the linking of our carbon markets. Whether it is slashing red tape for business, helping to bring down bills, or deepening co-operation on challenges posed by illegal migration, including action to tackle people smuggling and deepen information sharing, these deals are good for bills, good for our borders and good for jobs.
A key outcome from the summit was the adoption of a new security and defence partnership with the EU, filling a critical gap left in the trade and co-operation agreement between the UK and EU, and enabling us to strengthen our co-operation on a wide range of areas critical to European security. We are working quickly with the EU to implement the partnership and have stepped up our co-operation on key issues such as support to Ukraine, tackling hybrid threats and supporting stability in the western Balkans.
The SDP also unlocked the possibility for enhanced UK participation in the Security Action for Europe instrument. Earlier this autumn, the UK and the EU commenced formal negotiations on a bilateral agreement to facilitate UK participation. The UK entered these negotiations in good faith, recognising our mutual strategic interest and commitment to work with the EU on defence. However, we have not been able to conclude these negotiations with an agreement.
This Government have always been clear that we will only sign agreements that are in the national interest. In this case, we were unable to reach an agreement that passed that test.
While it is disappointing that we have not been able to positively conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK’s defence industry continues to have access to SAFE under standard third country terms. UK companies will be able to participate and benefit from SAFE contracts to provide up to 35% of their content.
International partnerships, including with our European allies, will remain key to delivering our defence industrial strategy. The UK and EU member states are already working closely to strengthen the European defence industrial base. Since this Government took office, we have struck defence agreements across Europe, including the landmark Trinity House agreement with Germany, and the historic Northwood declaration to deepen nuclear co-operation and co-ordination with France, and we will continue this close co-operation.
The UK is already at the heart of European co-operation in the face of rising threats—through one of the largest defence budgets in Europe; unmatched alliances, including through NATO; a world-leading defence industrial base; and iron-clad military and training support to Ukraine.
And we continue to step up on European security, from leading the coalition of the willing for Ukraine to strengthening our relationships with allies.
We will continue to pursue export deals that benefit Britain, and to provide these systems and weaponry and the innovation that helps make Europe safe. In the last year alone we have struck a £10 billion deal with Norway and secured an £8 billion Typhoon agreement with Türkiye.
Yesterday I spoke with EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, where I underlined that the UK remains fully committed to continuing our close co-operation with the EU and our European partners, including to strengthen European security and maintain our unwavering support for Ukraine.
We will continue working together in good faith to implement the wider package agreed at the UK-EU summit.
[HCWS1114]
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035: UK-wide Bid
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)
On 3 April 2025, FIFA confirmed that the UK is the sole bidder to host the FIFA women’s world cup 2035. I can now confirm that, on 28 November 2025, the four home nations football associations submitted their joint bid to host the tournament, supported by the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government are committed to hosting major sporting events with pride and impact, with the FIFA women’s world cup being the largest major sporting event the UK has never previously hosted. As the Prime Minister set out in March 2025, hosting this tournament would provide another monumental moment in our sporting history, driving growth, uniting communities and enhancing the UK’s soft power. With the inclusion of prospective host cities and stadia across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland within the bid, we will ensure that the socioeconomic benefits of hosting are felt in every corner of the country.
As the largest single sport women’s event in the world, the FIFA women’s world cup would act as the culmination of this Government’s decade of change for women’s and girls’ sport. From our significant investment in new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities, to our independent expert-led review of the curriculum to ensure all children can engage in PE and sport, we are committed to showcasing the UK as a world leader in all aspects of women’s and girls’ sport by 2035.
Following a thorough evaluation process of the UK-wide bid, FIFA congress is expected to make a decision on the hosts for the 2035 tournament in April 2026.
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Environmental Improvement Plan 2025
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
Today I am laying the environmental improvement plan 2025 in Parliament. This sets out a road map for improving the natural environment. It explains how this Government will protect and restore our iconic places and wildlife, boost biodiversity, create a circular economy, protect environmental security and improve people’s access to nature. It is a prioritised, systems-based plan that is clear on what, how and who will deliver our environmental ambitions.
The EIP underlines our commitment to delivering the statutory Environment Act 2021 targets. It includes updated interim targets for the next five years that are ambitious and achievable. They span air quality, water, terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and resource efficiency and waste reduction.
To be transparent on the actions required to achieve each target, for the first time we are publishing Environment Act target delivery plans alongside the EIP. The EIP and the delivery plans will be delivered in collaboration with partners including Government Departments and bodies, local authorities, landowners, farmers, private companies, third sector organisations and community groups. These delivery plans will be refined over time as we work collaboratively to support, deliver and monitor the impacts of actions.
Laying the EIP in Parliament and publishing it concludes the statutory review of EIP23. In producing this plan, we have reviewed and improved upon EIP23. In particular, our revised plan:
prioritises actions, moving to a clear framework that sets out how objectives and actions “stack up” to contribute to our environmental outcomes;
sets out who is responsible for delivering actions, across Government and wider society;
provides delivery plans for the Environment Act targets, alongside the EIP;
and includes a clearer framework for monitoring and evaluating progress to improve transparency.
The EIP includes a summary of the EIP review and how this revision responds to it.
This Government have already made significant progress in protecting nature. The EIP will drive forward this momentum and sets out how the Government will, for example:
Restore nature, with stronger interim targets to restore or create a total of 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside protected sites by December 2030, in line with the Government manifesto. Action will be backed by £500 million for landscape recovery alongside funding for tree planting and peatland restoration. This follows announcement of two new national forests backed by £1 billion investment.
Reduce harmful pollutants in the air with revised interim targets to reduce exposure to PM2.5 particles by nearly a third by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. We will consult on new measures to cut emissions from domestic combustion.
Tackle forever chemicals that can harm people and pollute air, land and water. A new PFAS plan will set out how sources, pathways and exposure to forever chemicals will be addressed.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure resilience of the natural environment to climate change with at least £85 million invested in improving and restoring our peatlands and £1 billion in tree planting.
Take tougher measures on waste crime with stronger penalties to ensure that only the right people transport and manage waste and a digital waste tracking service to modernise record keeping, to tackle waste fraud.
Improve access to nature by completing the King Charles III England coast path next year and publishing a Green Paper on measures to ensure everyone has access to nature close to home.
Our revised plan provides the clarity and detail needed to manage competing pressures on our limited land and water, integrating environmental action with our plan for change to grow the economy, build homes, boost food security and meet climate targets.
Achieving our environmental ambitions requires collective action from individuals, communities, and organisations across all sectors. We look forward to working in partnership to achieve them.
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Antarctic Strategy
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)
The Government are today publishing a UK Antarctic strategy. This sets out the UK’s aims and ambitions for the Antarctic for the next decade.
The strategy brings together the UK’s approach to the Antarctic under a single document for the first time. It outlines the full range of UK interests in Antarctica that shape our engagement in the region, and our priorities looking ahead.
At a time of growing global interest in Antarctica, our approach will see the UK continuing to play an active and leading role in the Antarctic treaty system, upholding our rights and responsibilities and reiterating the importance of international collaboration. We will also safeguard our sovereignty of the British Antarctic Territory, ensuring the effective administration of the territory.
Our long-term strategic objective remains for the Antarctic to be a place dedicated to peace and science, characterised by co-operation.
The UK will focus activity across four areas.
Governance and UK sovereign interests: Antarctic matters are characterised by international co-operation, which the UK will seek to enhance. We also want to celebrate our long-standing connection with Antarctica and why it matters to the UK. The UK will continue to chair the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources to 2026 and to work with parties on the sustainable management of Antarctic marine resources.
Science: we will continue to invest in our world-leading polar infrastructure, ensuring that the British Antarctic Survey and UK researchers have the platforms they need to carry out the science we all need to protect Antarctica and the UK from the impacts of climate change, including our continued programme of infrastructure work at Rothera research station. The focus of UK science is on climate change, with projects looking at the rate of sea ice loss and glacier retreat, and ongoing work to drill ice cores, which can give a better understanding of a changing climate and the subsequent impacts for the world.
Environmental protection: the UK will continue to advocate for enhanced environmental protection for Antarctica, including for British heritage in the region, working with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. We will continue to push for greater protection of Shackleton’s famous ship Endurance, to identify sites for designation as Antarctic specially protected areas, and to advocate for specially protected species status for the iconic emperor penguin.
Ensuring peaceful and lawful use: we will continue to work closely with Antarctic partners to ensure we uphold the principles of the Antarctic treaty system, including the environmental protocol’s ban on commercial mineral resource activity. We will also work with parties on continued negotiations to develop a framework for the management of Antarctic tourism, ensuring it is safe and environmentally responsible, and does not unduly impact the Antarctic environment.
Through this new strategy, the UK will draw on our years of Antarctic experience and expertise to ensure Antarctica remains a continent preserved for peace and science.
We are publishing this strategy on Antarctica Day, which commemorates the signing of the Antarctic treaty in 1959. 66 years after this vital international agreement was signed, the UK is committing further to Antarctica. On this anniversary, we wish all of those working in Antarctica well.
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HIV Action Plan
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
I am pleased to announce to the House that today the Government will publish its HIV action plan, setting out how we will achieve our ambition to end HIV transmissions within England by 2030.
We are at a pivotal moment in the fight against HIV.
Over the past two decades in England, the epidemic has been transformed, and in the last five years we have made major progress in prevention, testing, PrEP use and treatment.
However, progress is slowing. New diagnoses fell by 2% from 2023 to 2024, with progress not benefiting all groups equally. For example, in white gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), diagnoses fell by 11% from 2020 to 2024, but among ethnic minority GBMSM, they increased by 50% over the same time period.
The epidemic we face today is broader and more complex, requiring an equitable, evidence-driven response.
As set out in our 10-year health plan ending HIV transmission is a national priority for this Government, supporting the three major shifts our health system needs: from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital.
The plan I am announcing today has been developed by my Department, in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England, and informed through extensive engagement with other Government Departments, local government, voluntary and community sector partners, sexual health stakeholders and—crucially—with people with lived experience.
Our plan sets out a clear framework for action, backed by over £170 million in funding over the next three years.
It focuses on five core themes: prevent, test, treat, thrive and collaborate.
Through these themes, the plan commits to:
Prevent HIV transmission through equitable access to HIV prevention services.
Scale up testing to reduce transmission and protect people’s health.
Rapidly linking and retain people living with HIV in care, ensuring individuals can live healthy lives and cannot pass it on
Address stigma and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV.
Strengthen the healthcare system to improve HIV and wider sexual health.
Importantly, this plan sets out the national, regional and local actions required to accelerate progress and deliver.
It will enable Government, the NHS, UKHSA, local government, academia, industry, the voluntary and community sector, and people living with HIV to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing and treatment, and to tackle stigma.
I would like to thank the many individuals and organisations who have supported the development of this plan, including community partners and those with lived experience. Their insights have been invaluable in shaping actions that will meet real needs and address health inequalities.
I too am very grateful for the cross-party support that has helped shape this plan and for the foundations we have built this on. Working together in this spirit will be essential to tackling HIV going forward and to reach our ambitions. I urge all members to lend their backing to this plan so we can deliver meaningful change across the country.
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Victim Information Requests: Code of Practice
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)
For too long police requests for victims’ sensitive records such as medical and counselling notes have been disproportionate during investigations. This has been a particular concern in cases involving rape and serious sexual offences. Unnecessary requests are distressing for victims and delay the investigative process.
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 introduced duties mandating police and other authorised persons to only request victim information such as medical records when it is necessary and proportionate, and in pursuit of a reasonable line of enquiry. These duties also created special protections for victims’ counselling records, reflecting the highly sensitive nature of these records.
To enable these measures to come into force, the Government have now defined counselling services in regulations under section 44A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and finalised the accompanying code of practice. Stakeholder feedback informed changes to strengthen the code.
We have defined counselling services broadly for the purposes of these duties. The definition is intended to capture all services, whether remunerated or voluntary, offering psychological, therapeutic or emotional support aimed at improving the service user’s emotional, psychological and mental health. This means that a broad spectrum of victim information will be afforded the higher safeguards outlined above and is intended to protect the privacy and dignity of victims within the criminal justice system. It also supports the Government’s wider commitment to halving the incidence of violence against women and girls over the next decade.
The final code of practice to be brought into force, which includes this definition of counselling services, has been laid before Parliament as a draft. A copy of the Government response to the consultation on the code will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on www.gov.uk.
These new duties will come into force on 12 January 2026.
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Local Government Best Value
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)
The Government are committed to taking the action necessary to fix the foundations of local government. Today I am updating the House on the steps that we are taking to support two councils to recover and reform: Birmingham city council and Nottingham city council.
Birmingham city council
Today I am publishing the Birmingham commissioners’ third report, alongside my response.
I welcome the commissioners’ assessment of the period since January 2025, in their first report since the start of all-out industrial action in the waste service. The commissioners highlight that the council has made clear, positive progress in key areas. A landmark equal pay framework agreement has been signed, and there has been externally validated improvement in children’s and adult services. These are important steps towards delivering the improvement that residents deserve and are testament to the committed and focused leadership of Councillor John Cotton and his cabinet, with the support of the commissioner team, and the hard work of council staff.
During this period, the council has been managing the impact of continuing industrial action by Unite the union in the council’s waste services. The Government’s priority throughout this industrial dispute is, and has always been, Birmingham’s residents. While industrial action continues to affect waste disposal services at Birmingham city council, in the spring the Government took decisive action, in lockstep with the council, to ensure that waste in the city can be safely and sustainably managed. The result has been to establish a regular, reliable waste collection service despite industrial action. But this new wave of strikes threatens to derail progress for residents. Despite efforts to resolve the dispute by the council, commissioners assess that the ongoing waste dispute has diverted attention away from the vital improvements that the council has been making and slowed progress in key areas. The council still has work to do to move towards financial sustainability and is being hampered by this ongoing issue. Once again, we urge Unite to call off these strikes and end the disruption and misery caused to local people. Unite has acknowledged that, on occasion, behaviour on the picket line during this dispute breached a court order. This behaviour must not be repeated.
The distraction of the waste dispute is deeply disappointing and frustrating for the residents of Birmingham. We have seen again that, due to protest and picketing action relating to a new industrial dispute between Unite and an agency of the council, Birmingham has had to suspend its waste collections today. Further disruption is in no one’s interest. This remains a local issue for employers and the council to deal with in the first instance, but in the interests of Birmingham residents we remain in close contact with commissioners and the council and continue to monitor the situation. Commissioners continue to support the council in its operational response to the ongoing dispute, and in developing much-needed transformation plans for the waste service.
If the council can continue to progress and focus on improving critical areas of risk, we would hope to review the shape and focus of the intervention, with phased reductions at the appropriate time. I have asked Tony McArdle OBE to set out options for that in the next report from the commissioner team, as part of the work he is leading on the intervention exit strategy.
It is vital that the council is able to continue the pace at which it is delivering necessary improvements. I look forward to receiving an update on the steps taken to tackle the remaining risks and the development of an exit plan through the next commissioners’ report.
Nottingham city council
Nottingham has been in intervention since January 2021, and commissioners were appointed in February 2024.
On 21 November 2025, I published the commissioners’ third report, received in August, alongside my response. I am encouraged by the commissioners’ report, which highlights the steady progress being made by the council in delivering its improvement plan. It is reassuring that the council is now showing some “early signs of a shift towards continuous improvement thinking” and that positive changes are beginning to embed. I note that while noting that some key challenges remain. To maintain capacity and oversight until the current directions expire on 22 February 2026, the Secretary of State has made some changes to roles within the existing commissioner team and appointed Sharon Kemp OBE as lead commissioner, with Tony McArdle OBE and Margaret Lee OBE continuing as commissioners.
I look forward to receiving the commissioners’ next report in December and will carefully consider this before determining the next steps for Nottingham.
Conclusion
I am committed to working with these councils to ensure their compliance with the best value duty and the high standards of governance that local residents expect. This Government are working to deliver a consistently fit, legal and decent local government sector that provides good-quality essential services for all residents.
I will deposit in the House Library copies of the documents referred to, which are being published on gov.uk today. I will update the House in due course.
[HCWS1116]
Criminal Legal Aid Solicitor Fees Consultation: Government Response
(1 day, 4 hours ago)
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The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)
Today I am laying before Parliament the Government’s response to the consultation “Criminal Legal Aid: proposals for solicitor fee scheme reform”.
Criminal legal aid lawyers play a crucial role in our justice system, taking on some of the most complex cases that go through our courts and ensuring the most vulnerable people in society can access justice. The consultation invited responses to fee scheme proposals that would allocate an additional £92 million per annum investment once fully implemented.
The consultation paper was published on 9 May 2025, with proposals that covered work carried out by legal aid providers at police stations, in magistrates’ courts, in the Crown Court, and in prisons.
After considering the responses, we have decided to implement the majority of the proposals put forward. These involve harmonising police station fees, a 10% increase to magistrates’ courts fees—including youth court fees—and a 24% increase to fees for work done in prisons. In line with our initial proposals, we will also increase some litigators’ graduated fee scheme trial basic fees for the lowest paid offences and will introduce a fixed ratio between guilty plea, cracked trial and trial basic fees.
As a result of some of the responses we received during the consultation period, we will be making some changes to our final proposals, so that we can ensure these measures support providers as effectively as possible. We have amended the escape fee threshold in the police station fee scheme to enable more cases to qualify for the fee, and we will additionally uplift fees for all solicitors’ appeals work by 10%.
This significant investment, once fully implemented, means that criminal legal aid solicitors will have received a 24% overall uplift in funding since the criminal legal aid independent review. This investment will support a stronger and more sustainable legal aid sector—one that is fit for the future and retains the brightest and the best practitioners. It is part of this Government’s plan for change to ensure justice is done and our streets are safe.
We announced these fee uplifts in December 2024, before the Legal Aid Agency was subject to a cyber security incident in mid-2025. The LAA has swiftly responded with comprehensive measures designed to maintain access to justice and protect provider cash flow during system disruption. Throughout this disruption, we remain committed to delivering these important uplifts for the sector. We are pleased that we remain on track to deliver on our commitment to invest in the legal aid system.
We intend to bring forward statutory instruments to amend the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 to reflect the changes and fee increases. Our intention is that the first statutory instrument will come into force from 22 December 2025. This will cover the crime lower fee increases set out in our response, relating to work in police stations, magistrates’ courts, prisons and for some appeals work. A second statutory instrument will be laid as soon as the required changes to uplift fees can be delivered through Legal Aid Agency digital systems. This will cover the crime higher fee increases set out in our response, relating to the LGFS and remaining areas of appeals work.
As well as our investment in criminal legal aid, the Government are also today announcing implementation of our fee uplifts for immigration and housing controlled work in civil legal aid confirmed earlier in the year.
[HCWS1110]