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 were passed last week which will introduce ‘secondary legislation to make temporary operational changes’ said Justice Minister Sarah Sackman MP in a written statement to Parliament.
The LAA online services remain offline since the attack. The LAA say they are working hard to restore access and have restored some internal online systems. The statutory instrument will remain in effect from 27th June until further notice. Both the Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident and the frequently asked questions page were updated on Friday.
“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.”
To date the LAA has
- set up an average payment scheme for legal aid providers for civil legal aid cases;
- resumed payments to providers on criminal legal aid cases;
- put in place processes for urgent civil legal aid application approvals;
- resumed processing criminal legal aid applications for the Crown Court; and
- confirmed that criminal legal aid applications made in this time will be backdated.
For a temporary period civil legal aid income and capital contributions for new and existing cases will be waived, and prohibitions will be removed on delegation of powers to enable the Director of Legal Aid Casework (DLAC) to delegate some additional decisions regarding civil legal aid determinations to legal aid providers. A message on the cyber security guidance website reads
Civil legal aid
For civil legal aid, the effect of the SI package will be to waive both income and capital contributions from clients, and remove the prohibition on delegation to providers of certain functions. The DLAC will then delegate to civil legal aid providers the ability to:
- amend substantive determinations for Licensed Work up to a certain limit;
- make determinations in respect of certain proceedings which are related to those for which a determination has already been made by the LAA; and
- withdraw non-contentious determinations on legal aid funding where: the services made available by the determination have been provided; the proceedings to which the determination relates have been concluded; the individual consents; or the individual has died.
For licensed work, where legal representation in court is needed, the LAA, acting under delegated powers, usually determines eligibility and is also typically responsible for taking decisions in relation to the potential amendment of the determination as well as its possible withdrawal, subject to the circumstances of the case.
In relation to civil legal aid contributions, there is a transitional provision which will act as a deterrent to individuals who already have civil legal aid, from stopping instructions to their solicitors to seek a refund of any contributions already paid, then making a new application for the same case under the more favourable terms provided for under this SI.
The DLAC will also be required to withdraw, rather than revoke, any emergency representation determination where the individual does not subsequently pass the means test.
The distinction between revocation and withdrawal is broadly as follows: when the LAA revokes the funding certificate, any legal aid funds paid to the provider for work undertaken in the case would be reclaimed from the individual; in contrast, when the LAA withdraws the funding certificate, legal aid funding ceases from that point and the individual faces no liability to the LAA for the legal aid costs incurred in the case.
In her written statement, Sackman concluded the ministry was working hard on ‘stabilising’ the LAA’s systems and put in place contingencies which ‘ensure that those most in need of legal aid can continue to access the help that they need.’
The Law Society of England and Wales have said the Ministry of Justice must learn lessons from the event and introduce more robust contingency measures in future.
“While there are immediate actions required to address this crisis, it is vital that government commission a review of the response to learn the lessons from any failings or successes,”
said Law Society President Richard Atkinson.
“Contingency planning across government for these types of events will sadly become more and more necessary. Like the NHS or education, legal aid is crucially important to the public and must be invested in.”
The Law Society has set out 10 key steps for the government, the judiciary and the LAA to take to keep the wheels of justice turning, including:
- Getting LAA IT operational again
- Ensuring vital representation in the courts and protecting those most in need of legal support
- Providing full transparency on what data has been accessed
- Providing clear support to individuals who have had their data breached
“It has been two months since the cyber-attack and it is time to get our justice system back online and ensure legal aid – a crucial public service – is available to all who may need it. Civil legal aid providers – who can make the difference between a home and homelessness or give stability for children navigating family separation – are particularly hard hit.”
continued Atkinson.
“They have been unable to apply for new grants of legal aid which has left people most in need unable to secure legal advice and risks the closure of legal aid firms across the country.”
