Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid firms there were in Cornwall in each year for which data is available.

The information requested can be found in the below table:

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The LAA aims to ensure each procurement area in each category of law has at least the minimum amount of contracts to ensure adequate provision. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Cornwall, is currently met across all categories.