Civil legal aid fee increases welcome but do not go far enough – Law Society of England and Wales reacts to the MoJ’s civil legal aid fees consultation response

Law Society of England and Wales president, Richard Atkinson, said:

“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.”