Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number and geographical distribution of legal aid providers undertaking mental health work to meet existing demand and the future demand anticipated as a result of the Mental Health Act 2025; whether he plans to review the remuneration rates for mental health legal aid work; and if he will bring the Legal Aid Agency mileage rate into line with the HMRC approved mileage rate of 55 pence per mile.

This Government recognises the vital work of legal aid mental health providers in supporting vulnerable people to access justice.

For civil contracts, including Mental Health, the LAA commissions legal aid services across geographic areas called procurement areas. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the numbers of providers holding contracts across England and Wales within different categories of law. All procurement areas in the Mental Health category exceed the minimum number of contracts per procurement area. Information about the number of legal aid contract holders is published as part of the LAA’s Official Statistics: Legal aid statistics quarterly: October to December 2025 - GOV.UK [Tables 9.1-9.8].

A detailed breakdown by procurement area in each category can be accessed via the Legal Aid Provider Contract Statistics Dashboard: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-guide-to-legal-aid-statistics-in-england-and-wales/legal-aid-statistics-data-visualisation-tools.

The LAA will continue to monitor coverage as we approach the implementation of changes that will impact the Mental Health Tribunal as a result of the Mental Health Act 2025. Details regarding additional demand resulting from the Mental Health Act 2025 are set out in the Impact Assessment published alongside the Act (https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/56782/documents/5311).

In preparation for a new standard civil contract in 2028, the LAA will engage with stakeholders including the Mental Health Lawyers Association to gather views on how best to support the sustainability of the market. These insights will inform LAA’s approach and help shape future contracts to reduce administrative burdens and increase flexibility in the way services are delivered.

The Government is making significant investments in legal aid. We have secured additional funding of over £200 million over the Spending Review period for legal aid transformation, recovery from the cyber-attack, and for moving our legacy systems to a modern and secure technology platform. The transformation programme aims to support sustainability for all providers – including those undertaking mental health legal aid work – by ensuring new digital systems streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens.

Travel payments form part of the wider legal aid remuneration system, which is kept under review. HMRC’s Approved Mileage Allowance Payments sit within the tax framework and do not determine legal aid payment rates. Any changes to legal aid travel payments would be considered on their own merits, taking account of the operation and sustainability of the scheme.