Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue has been raised from call charging associated with the legal aid telephone gateway.

Between March 2014 and January 2015 the LAA phased out the use of 0845 access numbers for CLA and replaced them with 0345 numbers.

This means there is a single national point of contact for CLA without callers having to pay extra to call them.Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to a 01 or 02 number and count towards inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls. This applies to calls from any type of line including mobile, fixed line or payphone.

The LAA provides clear information about the costs of making a call. Individuals can also check whether they may qualify for legal aid via a free digital service on gov.uk before requesting a call back. They also have the option of asking CLA staff to make a return call.