Civil Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

(asked on 30th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on civil legal aid (1) to recognise the importance of challenging discrimination, (2) to advise that a discrimination claim that seeks other remedies in addition to damages should not be assumed to be primarily a claim for damages, (3) to amend the rules on the application of the cost-benefit test to reflect the non-financial value of discrimination claims, and (4) to provide that cost-benefit assessments should start from the assumption that discrimination claims are not primarily claims for damages and are likely to be in the wider public interest.


Answered by
Baroness Scott of Bybrook Portrait
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This question was answered on 14th December 2020

The government recognises the importance of challenging discrimination and have taken steps to enhance the ability to do this. On 21 April 2020, we laid a Statutory Instrument to fulfil our commitment to remove the mandatory element of the CLA Gateway for those seeking legal aid in discrimination, debt and special educational needs matters, reinstating immediate access to face-to-face advice in these cases. This came into force on 15 May 2020.

Publicly funded advice and assistance continues to be available for Employment Tribunal discrimination claims and legally aided representation may be available under the Exceptional Case Funding scheme if there is a breach, or risk of a breach, of the applicant’s ECHR rights or enforceable EU rights if legal aid is not provided. The MoJ is currently reviewing the ECF application process, together with other aspects of the ECF guidance and forms as part of considering whether the application process can be improved and will give further consideration to the operation of the cost benefit test.

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