Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money from the public purse was spent on civil legal aid from 1 March 2020 to 31 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,130 firms which hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,466 firms which hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 2 November 2020.
Information on legal aid expenditure is published in the Legal Aid Agency’s National Statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics. At the time of writing, the most recent period for which data has been published covers up to and including March 2020; pre-publication laws preclude us from releasing figures for subsequent months at this time. Figures are also available under the closed claim expenditure measure in the same release with data up to June 2020 available. This provides only the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to pieces of work that are completed in the period, and which could cover wide time periods, but does not include income received or expenditure in relation to debt write-offs.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts in England and Wales are accessible for disabled users; and what steps he has taken to improve access for disabled users of the courts system.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring our courts are accessible to all our users and we aim to list cases at suitable venues when there are access needs. We are unable to provide information on the number of courts that are accessible for disabled users in the time allocated.
HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch before a hearing to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. Various mitigations will be explored, depending on the support required. For buildings, adjustments may include use of video-conferencing from a remote site, ensuring venues have ramps or accessible toilets, lifts able to accommodate wheelchairs, or hearing loops.
The modernisation and investment taking place across the justice system will mean that fewer people will need to attend court, as we make use of technology such as video-conferencing and online services. We have rapidly expanded our audio and video technology capability in direct response to the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19), enabling more remote hearings which reduce the need for people to attend a physical court building.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money from the public purse was spent on criminal legal aid for from 1 March 2020 to 31 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,130 firms which hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,466 firms which hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 2 November 2020.
Information on legal aid expenditure is published in the Legal Aid Agency’s National Statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics. At the time of writing, the most recent period for which data has been published covers up to and including March 2020; pre-publication laws preclude us from releasing figures for subsequent months at this time. Figures are also available under the closed claim expenditure measure in the same release with data up to June 2020 available. This provides only the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to pieces of work that are completed in the period, and which could cover wide time periods, but does not include income received or expenditure in relation to debt write-offs.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors held a civil legal aid contract as of 1 November 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,130 firms which hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,466 firms which hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 2 November 2020.
Information on legal aid expenditure is published in the Legal Aid Agency’s National Statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics. At the time of writing, the most recent period for which data has been published covers up to and including March 2020; pre-publication laws preclude us from releasing figures for subsequent months at this time. Figures are also available under the closed claim expenditure measure in the same release with data up to June 2020 available. This provides only the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to pieces of work that are completed in the period, and which could cover wide time periods, but does not include income received or expenditure in relation to debt write-offs.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors held a criminal legal aid contract as of 1 November 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,130 firms which hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,466 firms which hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 2 November 2020.
Information on legal aid expenditure is published in the Legal Aid Agency’s National Statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics. At the time of writing, the most recent period for which data has been published covers up to and including March 2020; pre-publication laws preclude us from releasing figures for subsequent months at this time. Figures are also available under the closed claim expenditure measure in the same release with data up to June 2020 available. This provides only the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to pieces of work that are completed in the period, and which could cover wide time periods, but does not include income received or expenditure in relation to debt write-offs.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether enforcement agent home visits will continue in regions placed in (a) Tier 2 and (b) Tier 3 during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Government is clear that enforcement activity must be conducted safely and in accordance with the public health measures in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Currently, enforcement agents should not enter residential properties in areas that are classified as Local Alert Level 2 (high) or 3 (very high), for the purposes of enforcement. This position has been set out in HMCTS operational guidance for County Court bailiffs and by the Lord Chancellor in correspondence to the enforcement trade associations. The Government is keeping the approach under review.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors hold a civil legal aid contract as of 1 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,136 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,471 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 7 October 2020.
The Legal Aid Agency tracks the number of contracted providers, not the number of individual practitioners who work in either criminal or civil law.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors held a criminal legal aid contract on October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,136 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,471 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 7 October 2020.
The Legal Aid Agency tracks the number of contracted providers, not the number of individual practitioners who work in either criminal or civil law.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many solicitors are undertaking legal aid work in criminal law as of 1 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,136 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,471 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 7 October 2020.
The Legal Aid Agency tracks the number of contracted providers, not the number of individual practitioners who work in either criminal or civil law.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many solicitors are undertaking legal aid work in civil law as of 1 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than one office. There are currently 1,136 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract. There are currently 1,471 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. This data is correct as at 7 October 2020.
The Legal Aid Agency tracks the number of contracted providers, not the number of individual practitioners who work in either criminal or civil law.
The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.
Earlier this year we announced an independent review to look at the sustainability of the legal aid market and have introduced changes to inject up £51m per year.