Tender for external analysis will be issued this month, final report expected next year
The Government has begun commissioning a comprehensive review of all areas of the civil legal aid market, including immigration. A tender will be issued this month inviting third parties to bid to undertake the external analysis, with the final report expected to be published next year in 2024.
Image credit: UK GovernmentAnnouncing the review last week, Justice Minister Lord Bellamy said the review would take an in-depth look at the issues facing the civil legal aid market and at how services are provided. The Ministry of Justice's (MOJ) press release added: "Once complete, the government can consider options from the review for moving to a more effective, more efficient and more sustainable system for legal providers and the people who rely on legal aid."
Organisations and associations representing practitioners welcomed the review, but called on action to be taken now due to the current crisis in the sector.
The Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) said in a statement that it would engage with the review, but expressed grave concern about the lack of current action and urged the Government to act now on the "significant amount of robust research and data" that already exists.
LAPG said it was worrying that the MOJ is already in possession of a plethora of data that demonstrates that legal aid providers and case starts have plummeted over the last decade as a direct result of government policy.
Describing a situation that those working in immigration legal aid will recognise, LAPG commented: "Civil legal aid fees have not increased in 30 years, and indeed have been cut in this time. Year on year legal aid lawyers are expected to deliver their expert services to vulnerable clients on fees that continuously fall due to inflation. Many have simply given up. Those who remain are exhausted, cannot recruit new staff and struggle to retain their existing staff. Current providers are so committed to the principle of access to justice that they find ways to subsidise loss-making legal aid work and they carry out work for free to provide the services their clients need."
In its statement in response to the review, the Bar Council also expressed concern that the timetable is too slow.
Nick Vineall KC, Chair of the Bar, said: "The review is not due to report until 2024, so any changes are not likely to take place until 2025 at the earliest. That delay creates a threat in itself. Our solicitor colleagues who provide the critical first line of advice are increasingly leaving the legal aid market altogether because present levels of remuneration are simply unsustainable. Unless interim measures are put in place to shore up existing provision there will be no system left by 2025. Urgent action is needed now to prevent the complete collapse of the system and we urge the Government to consider short-term interim measures on fees and scope."
The Law Society said civil legal aid providers are facing an existential crisis and an immediate cash investment is needed.
"The last time fees were increased was in 1996, over 25 years ago. On top of this, the government imposed a further 10% fee-cut in 2011. This represents a real-terms cut of 49.4% in fees to 2022. … We urgently call on the UK government to invest immediately in civil legal aid to shore up access to justice for those in need while the review – which is expected to last two years – takes place," the Law Society's president, Lubna Shuja, stated.
Analysis by the Law Society suggests that the number of providers starting legal aid work could drop by a third by 2025.
Lubna Shuja added: "We also urge the government to use the review to reduce bureaucracy, examine the scope of legal aid and encourage the next generation of legal aid lawyers to come into the market by making clear there is a future in this vital public service."
The Law Gazette first reported last October that a major review of civil legal aid was in the pipeline and noted: "According to government figures, there were 1,369 providers with civil contracts in February 2022. There were 2,134 providers in April 2012 - a year before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) came into force."