Domestic Abuse: Legal Aid Scheme

(asked on 7th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of domestic violence have had an application for legal aid denied when applying for a non-molestation order in each year since 2010.


Answered by
Alex Chalk Portrait
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This question was answered on 15th September 2021

Legal aid is available to obtain an injunction to protect survivors of domestic violence. This is not subject to any upper means limit; applicants cannot be found financially ineligible for this form of support. Applications are subject to a merits test to assess their suitability for legal aid funding. Please note that volumes relate to applications for legal aid and not individual applicants; an individual may submit more than one application for public funding. Less than 1.4% of applications for legal aid for a non-molestation order were refused since 2010. Less than 7% of applications for an occupation order were refused since 2010.

Applications for legal aid for occupation orders and non-molestation orders:

OCCUPATION ORDERS

YEAR

APPLICATIONS

REFUSALS

2010-2011

715

27

2011-2012

524

21

2012-2013

600

35

2013-2014

208

15

2014-2015

215

8

2015-2016

243

13

2016-2017

354

27

2017-2018

301

25

2018-2019

373

44

2019-2020

332

42

2020-2021

321

32

NON-MOLESTATION ORDERS

YEAR

APPLICATIONS

REFUSALS

2010-2011

11,649

35

2011-2012

10,520

14

2012-2013

11,495

25

2013-2014

15,261

68

2014-2015

14,121

131

2015-2016

13,461

132

2016-2017

13,251

235

2017-2018

13,399

307

2018-2019

13,189

406

2019-2020

16,148

391

2020-2021

21,790

403

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