To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to address so-called "legal advice deserts".
Answered on
22 June 2021
We continue to work to ensure that civil legal aid advice remains accessible to those who need it. The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity under continual review to ensure adequate provision across England and Wales. Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice is available through the CLA telephone service.
We are currently considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market broadly, looking at a range of factors, from the current remuneration rates, to the pipeline into a career in legal aid, as well as the ability of providers to offer legal aid services into the future. We intend to continue working very closely with stakeholders to increase our understanding of the challenges currently faced by the whole sector.
Legal Aid is central to access to justice, but it is only one part of a broader picture. We know that early intervention is key to help people resolve their legal problems as swiftly as possible, potentially without the need to receive legally aided advice or attend court at all. We are delivering pilots for early resolution of legal problems and to test what works. This includes looking at how we can improve signposting and enhance access to existing online and in person legal support services, and a targeted expansion of funding for early legal advice in a specific area of social welfare law to test its impact.
Charities in the advice sector play a crucial role to help people resolve their legal problems across England and Wales, which has been vital throughout Covid-19. MoJ has provided £5.4m in funding for not-for-profit providers of specialist legal advice. £3m was given to Law Centres and the remaining £2.4m to the Community Justice Fund administered by the Access to Justice Foundation. In 2020, we launched the two-year, £3.1m Legal Support for Litigants in Person Grant. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation to deliver the grant, which is designed to fund services provided at local, regional and national levels with the aim of understanding more about how they can combine to help people.