- Government confirms up to £92 million investment in criminal
legal aid after years of neglect
- New funding for housing and immigration fees to help rebuild
the justice system
- Part of government's Plan for Change to transform the justice
system and deliver swifter justice for victims
Victims will get swifter access to justice as the Government
confirms up to an additional £92m per year boost for criminal
legal aid solicitors, Courts Minister announced today (Monday 1
December).
The investment will tackle years of neglect and build a stronger
and more sustainable legal aid sector that works for those who
serve within it - and those victims and defendants who depend on
it.
This investment lays the groundwork for longer-term reform to the
justice system to get cases moving through the courts and ensure
swifter justice for victims – with further updates expected later
this week.
Minister for Courts and Legal Services, KC MP,
said:
Our legal aid system has been left neglected. This
multimillion-pound investment is crucial to keeping the wheels of
justice turning – it supports the professionals keeping the
system running, the victims waiting for answers, and all those
who need access justice.
We know that justice delayed is justice denied. That is why we're
investing in the criminal justice system. Getting the legal aid
sector back on a sustainable footing is vital to restoring the
public's confidence in our justice system
Once fully implemented, criminal legal aid solicitors will have
received a 24% overall uplift in funding since the 2021 Criminal
Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR).
Criminal solicitors have been waiting years for a pay rise and
now they will finally feel the fee increases which will support
their vital work to keep the wheels of our criminal justice
system turning.
Alongside this, the Government is also uplifting housing and
immigration legal aid fees by 18 million a year - the first major
civil legal aid fee increase since 1996.
An additional two million for licensed housing and immigration
work will be delivered separately and as soon as possible. An
injection of £20 million will support some of the most vulnerable
people in society, including those at risk of losing their home
and victims of modern slavery. The investment will also help to
reduce the asylum backlog and end the use of asylum hotels.
The majority of these crime and civil changes will come into
effect on 22 December 2025 – ensuring hardworking
practitioners are properly paid for the vital work they do.
Legal aid plays a crucial role in our justice system, supporting
some of the most complex cases that go through our courts. Our
Plan for Change is making the justice system fair, accessible and
fit for purpose.
This funding supports our wider reform of the criminal justice
system. The government will soon publish its response to Part 1
of Sir Brian Leveson's independent review, which recommends bold
and ambitious reforms to clear the escalating court backlog and
deliver swifter justice for victims.
Further information
