The Legal Services Agency paid £120million to lawyers for legal
aid work in the last financial year, according to provisional
figures.
Justice Minister said the figure demonstrates the
ongoing commitment to deliver high-quality access to justice in
Northern Ireland.
She was commenting during a visit to the Legal Services Agency
(LSA) headquarters in Belfast to mark its 10th anniversary.
“I value the role legal aid plays in supporting the most
vulnerable in our society at some of the most difficult times in
their lives,” said Minister Long.
“People often encounter the justice system at times of
crisis and it is a critical feature in any society that everyone
can access effective and experienced legal representation. With
this in mind, my Department continues to make significant
investment to ensure those most in need are able to access legal
representation through legal aid.”
According to provisional management figures, LSA paid out £116.8m
on legal aid cases in 2024/25. An additional £3.2m was paid in
respect of legacy inquests, bringing total expenditure by the LSA
on legal aid cases in 2024/25 to £120m.
Provisional figures also show LSA staff are succeeding in efforts
to reduce the length of time it takes to make payments for legal
aid work.
On 31 March 2025, the Agency had a total of £5.7m of bills to
assess – compared to £13.6m at the same time in 2024. This
represents a 58% reduction.
The Minister continued: “It is a pleasure to be back at
the LSA, particularly this month to mark the 10th anniversary of
the creation of the Agency.
"The LSA plays a crucial role in the delivery of justice
in Northern Ireland and I want to pay tribute to everyone at the
Agency for their hard work, particularly the ongoing efforts to
reduce the length of time for legal aid payments.
"I know it has been a challenging period. The increased
spend on legal aid demonstrates not only an increase in demand
but it also reflects the contribution the Agency makes to civil
and criminal justice.”
Notes to editors:
1. The Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland (LSANI) was created
on 1 April 2015 as an executive agency within the Department of
Justice (DoJ), upon the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Legal
Services Commission (NILSC).
2. Legal aid helps people who can't afford to pay for legal
advice or representation in court by a solicitor or barrister.
There are three different schemes that pay legal aid for people
needing legal advice and representation if a case goes to
court:
- legal advice and assistance
- civil legal aid
- criminal legal aid
