Justice select committee publishes report on future of legal aid

MPs have voiced concerns about the reduction in individual access to legal aid services in the justice select committee’s much-anticipated report on the future of legal aid.

It highlighted an “urgent need” to overhaul the current criminal legal aid system so that providers were paid for all the work they do to support their clients, especially at the early stage of the process."

It noted problems with recruitment and retention, and the migration of talented practitioners from the defence to the prosecution. It recognised the 33% drop in criminal legal aid expenditure in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20 that has seen many criminal legal aid providers leave the market permanently due to financial strain.

The current fixed-fees structure was judged outdated and inflexible, which in turn often prevented practitioners from being able to claim for the often complex casework undertaken and from being properly remunerated.

The volume of cases on referral was reported to have dropped over the last decade for defence practitioners, making it increasingly difficult for criminal defence firms to survive.

On civil legal aid, the committee noted ongoing difficulties caused by a lack of access to early legal advice and early resolution, and a pressing priority to ensure this is made available in the interests of improving access to justice, helping the courts with proceedings, helping to better equip litigants in person, and preventing disputes from accelerating in magnitude and complexity. 

It acknowledged that the legal aid means test and the exceptional case funding system are also in need of simplification and reform and that, as within the criminal jurisdiction, there are ongoing issues of sustainability.

There were concerns of a growing "refusal culture" at the Legal Aid Agency, with knock-on impacts to access and justice outcomes.

In family law, the committee found that an increased use of mediation for dispute resolution amongst separating couples has not come to pass and instead that couples were turning to the courts as a result of low confidence and trust in their ability to access justice.

CILEX welcomed the report which “echoes many of the concerns and issues” flagged in its submission to the committee, “particularly on the need for overhaul of legal aid to ensure fair and equal resource distribution across the system, for both sides of a legal dispute”.

The institute highlighted how Covid-19 had further exacerbated the problems already experienced by CILEX members and was pleased to see the committee “recognise the potential of technology in reducing expenditure and streamlining services to widen justice through increased accessibility”.

CILEX said it hoped the report would help to apply pressure following years of neglect for legal aid services and “secure action where there has been inaction.”