Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the Legal Aid Agency makes of the ability to pay of people it takes enforcement action against to recover debt.

Enforcement action is a last resort where other methods of recovering outstanding public money have not been successful. In some circumstances, enforcement can be done by way of long term security of assets, for example charging orders over property, which would not require immediate redemption of the sums outstanding. An assessment of an individual’s income, outgoings, capital and equity is conducted when exploring repayment and, where necessary, enforcement options, and the viability of recovering the debt is considered before any action is commenced.