Legal Aid Scheme

(asked on 15th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of legal aid providers in (a) Nottingham East constituency and (b) the UK.


Answered by
James Cartlidge Portrait
James Cartlidge
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 20th October 2021

The Government is taking steps to review the long-term sustainability of the Criminal Legal Aid market across England and Wales. Last year, following phase one of this review, we injected up to £51m per annum into Criminal Legal Aid, in areas of work that practitioners told us mattered the most.  This year we launched the second phase, an independent review, led by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC,  that will consider the sustainability of the whole Criminal Legal Aid system so that it can meet demand now and into the future, provide an effective and efficient service that ensures value for money for the taxpayer and provide defendants with high-quality advice from a diverse range of practitioners. Sir Christopher will submit his recommendations to the Lord Chancellor later this year.

In addition, MoJ continues to consider the long-term sustainability of civil legal aid, recognising that we need to take a whole system approach. The department has also been engaging with representative bodies and providers within the sector to increase our understanding of the challenges providers currently face.

The Legal Aid Agency continue to keep legal aid provision under constant review, ensuring access across England and Wales and taking immediate action whenever this could be threatened. Additionally, the LAA continues to monitor the state of the market to ensure access to justice is maintained.

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