Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure consistency in the legal aid fees payable for family law disputes involving children across England and Wales.

This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone gets the support they need to access the justice system. The legal aid scheme is designed to target funding at those that need it most; legal aid is available in certain family matters, including public family law cases which fall under the Children Act 1989.

The consistency of legal aid fees is considered within the context of the wider civil and family legal aid system. More widely we continue to consider the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid market and we have been engaging with representative bodies and providers within the sector to increase our understanding of the challenges the system is facing.

The Legal Aid Agency keep legal aid provision under constant review and take action when necessary to ensure consistency of provision.