A government consultation in civil legal aid funding for housing and immigration has recommended uplifts for providers; with a decision on an uplift for criminal legal aid for solicitors by up to £92m later this week. But there is no word on funding for family legal aid.
The investment in housing and immigration could be worth £20m a year once fully implemented say the government, and will see increase for fixed fee Housing work of 42% ,from £157 to £223; and the fixed fee for asylum legal help will increase by 35% from £413 to £559.
“This vital investment marks a turning point for civil legal aid by boosting funding to build capacity in the sector, helping to enable individuals, regardless of background or income, to uphold their legal rights.
“As part of our Plan for Change we are ensuring that our legal aid providers can deliver vital support where it’s needed most.”
said Justice Minister, Sarah Sackman KC MP.
The increases have been welcome by The Law Society, but do not go far enough said president, Richard Atkinson who also bemoaned the failure to review family legal aid fees.
“Civil legal aid is a critical public service and the legal professionals that provide it must be able to plan ahead with confidence. The increase in legal aid fees for housing and immigration is a positive step toward improving access to justice in many communities. While these increases will undoubtedly be seen as making a helpful contribution towards making this work more sustainable for solicitors, the claim by the Ministry of Justice that they will make housing and immigration work more profitable is questionable.
“Our research has found that this work is simply not profitable for practitioners at present, indeed a 95% increase is needed to restore fees to 1996 levels, the time when fees were last increased. Without at least an assurance that rates will be maintained in real terms, this increase may not be enough and justice will be a mirage in legal aid deserts across England and Wales. Moreover, it is very disappointing to see that the Ministry of Justice fails to mention a process to review fees for other civil justice categories, like family, where legal aid providers are struggling to offer a viable service to their clients.
“To address the long term issues across the whole system, the government must create an independent fee review body which recommends realistic fee increases that will allow solicitors to continue offering legal aid to those who need it.”
The announcement comes in the week a new statutory instrument has been rushed through Parliament to deal with the aftermath of the cyber attack at the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).
The Criminal and Civil Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will introduce ‘secondary legislation to make temporary operational changes’ to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).
The LAA online services remain offline since the attack with the agency saying they are working hard to restore access and have restored some internal online systems. The statutory instrument is effective from 27th June and will remain until further notice. Both the Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident and the frequently asked questions page were updated last week.
“Our priority remains to maintain access to justice and ensure legal aid providers can be paid. These enhanced measures are designed to support legal aid providers, reduce administrative burden, and prevent a significant case backlog while contingency measures are in place.”
said Sackman on the passing of the regulations.
