Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to expedite claims made to the Legal Aid Agency by civil legal aid practitioners.
The LAA is working to ensure it can continue to support the legal support sector, helping them maintain access to justice to their vulnerable clients. Details of what financial relief may be available for practitioners facing cashflow problems can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-legal-aid-practitioners.
Timescales for the payments of civil bills are published at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/civil-processing-dates, and claims are currently being considered within three working days of being received. Providers may request payment ‘on account’ where necessary, subject to any applicable conditions set out in the relevant contract/regulations, to put them in funds while the billing assessment process is completed.
The LAA continues to review what more might be done to ease both immediate liquidity concerns, and also to consider the potential impacts of any future losses of income on providers.