Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding the Government has allocated to legal aid in England and Wales in each financial year since 2010.

The previous Government left the legal aid system under significant strain following years of neglect. This Government has begun to put legal aid back on a sustainable footing by investing up to £92 million in addition per year by the end of this Parliament in criminal legal aid and £20 million additional each year in immigration and housing legal aid.

We have also announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation from 2024. That confirmed we are uplifting the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes will provide a £24 million boost for criminal legal aid providers.

The Lord Chancellor has a duty to ensure that legal aid is made available in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, for cases where the relevant eligibility criteria are met.

The Ministry of Justice works within HM Treasury allocations as shown in the Main and Supplementary Estimates (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates) each year. However, the nature of legal aid funding means that it is demand led, and as such the Ministry of Justice ensures sufficient allocation is made to cover the incurred costs.

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here, and includes expenditure up to 31 December 2024.