Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that individuals involved in civil justice proceedings who do not have substantial financial means to obtain barristers or paid legal advice are afforded adequate protections, support and access to justice.

Supporting access to justice for everyone in England and Wales is a key objective for this Government, and the Government recognises the important role that legal aid plays in helping some of the most vulnerable in society access legal advice.

Individuals who are unable to pay for legal advice or representation for civil justice issues may be eligible for legal aid, subject to the scope of legal aid and the eligibility rules on financial thresholds and the merits of the case as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and its supporting secondary legislation. Applications must generally pass a means and merits test. The means test assesses an applicant’s financial eligibility (including their capital e.g. savings), income and access to welfare benefits. The merits test assesses the merits of the case including the likelihood of success and the benefit to the applicant.

This Government is delivering the first major fee uplift for civil legal aid since 1996, investing an estimated £20 million in housing and immigration law once fully implemented. In addition, the Government’s Public Office (Accountability) Bill will provide the largest expansion of civil legal aid in a decade by ensuring bereaved families have access to non-means tested legal aid for all inquests where a public authority is an interested person.

The Government also continues to fund the activities of advice charities to bolster the delivery of legal support services – both in person and online - for people experiencing civil justice problems. The Ministry of Justice is providing nearly £20 million of multi-year funding, extending our existing legal support grant programmes for 59 frontline organisations (including a range of services such as some regional Citizens Advice and Law Centres, other community-based advice services, and online information) to September 2026 to help people resolve legal issues, and providing a new grant that will run from October 2026 to March 2029. We are also working with the sector, via the Legal Support Strategy Delivery Group, to drive improvements to the sector.