Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of people that have been excluded from legal aid eligibility as a result of the civil legal aid means test threshold not being uprated in line with inflation since 2008.

The financial thresholds for civil and criminal legal aid were reviewed by MoJ Ministers in January 2010, March 2011 and March 2016. Separately, the means test thresholds were reviewed at official level within MoJ in January 2012 and between October 2013 and January 2014.

Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Legal Aid Agency currently hold data on the number of individuals excluded from legal aid eligibility since the means testing thresholds were last uprated in 2008-09.

We think the time is now right to look at the means test and uprating in more detail. As part of the publication of the Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February, the Government has announced a review of the legal aid means testing thresholds and their interaction with the wider eligibility criteria. We are bringing together data and evidence from across government to ensure that the process is as thorough and consistent as possible. Following our consideration, we will bring forward any changes as soon as is practical.