Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of law centres dispensing legal aid which have closed in the last five years.

Thirty-six offices advertising themselves as a ‘law centre’ have withdrawn from their legal aid contracts between April 2012-April 2017.

Please note that a withdrawal from contract does not necessarily mean that a Law Centre has closed.

The Legal Aid Agency regularly reviews market capacity and accessibility to make sure that there is adequate provision of legal aid around the country, and moves quickly to safeguard provision where gaps may appear.

A new tender process for all civil legal aid contracts has recently launched, with services under these contracts beginning in autumn 2018.