‘Inadequate’ government response criticised as Justice Committee warns that legal aid is a ‘service in managed decline’

The Justice Select Committee has called on the Ministry of Justice to urgently prioritise' legal aid, warning that it is a service in managed decline'. The call follows what MPs described as a disappointing' and inadequate' government response to the Justice Committee's report on access to justice.

Members of the cross-party committee cautioned in its July report Access to Justice: Legal Aid' that decreasing availability of legal aid and rising levels of self-representation were creating an unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice' and undermining the efficient administration' of the courts.

In its new report published alongside the Government's response today (Tuesday, 3 November), the Committee said that despite giving the government an extended time to respond', it did not indicate which of our recommendations it accepts or rejects' and gives no justification for this approach.' MPs added: This is highly disappointing, and an inadequate form of response.'

The Committee concluded: We are therefore deeply concerned that the policy approach outlined in the government's response will not adequately address the issues raised in our report.

We recommended that Ministers urgently prioritise restoring legal aid as an effective, sustainable and accessible service for those who need it most. The government's response confirms to us that legal aid is a service in managed decline.'

MPs had called on the government to address eligibility, remuneration, provider capacity, administration and scope together, cautioning that without urgent reform legal aid will continue to decline as a practical route to justice'.

Eligibility

The report warned of the remarkably low' financial eligibility threshold for criminal legal aid in the magistrates' court, recommending immediate implementation of the Means Test Review, with proposed thresholds updated for inflation and current living costs.

It said: The government proposes reforms that will place more serious cases, carrying greater consequences for defendants, within the magistrates' court. The need to ensure that defendants can obtain legal representation therefore becomes more urgent before those reforms are implemented'.

It added: We remain convinced that criminal legal aid thresholds must be increased before, and not after, reforms increase magistrates' sentencing power. The government must state what threshold it proposes, publish its methodology and implement the change before the relevant court reforms come into force.'

Civil legal aid fees and workforce

The Committee cautioned that its evidence showed the sustainability problem extended across civil and family legal aid. The government's response to the report's proposed civil legal aid workforce strategy, it said, is weaker still'.

The government, it added, must explain how it will address the issues of recruitment, retention, training, succession planning and regional shortages identified in our report or state why it cannot do so.'

Lord Chancellor's duty under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012

The response, the Committee said, ignores the central proposition that it is the Lord Chancellor's duty to "secure that legal aid is made available", and that a way of doing this could be through the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) offering stronger contractual or financial incentives where ordinary procurement has failed'.

Legal Aid Agency

The Committee said the government response does not commit to reforming the LAA's objectives or delegated authority, piloting the high-trust model or consulting on alternative institutional arrangements. It offers a vision, but fundamental institutional changes are required to deliver it'. It said further that the government does not identify a programme of work, a decision, a timetable or an accountable body.'

Responding to the Committee's July report, the Ministry of Justice said: The government is steadfast in its commitment that legal aid must be sustainable and accessible to those who need it most. In 2024, we inherited a legal aid system in crisis and in need of investment. We were faced with stark choices of where to invest, in a challenging fiscal context.

Our first priority has been stabilisation - to fix the foundations of legal aid. We have done this by providing vital investment in both criminal and civil legal aid, targeted at areas in the most acute need.

The government recognises that significant challenges continue to exist in legal aid, as highlighted in the Committee's report. After stabilising the system, we have more to do to revive and transform the system for the longer term.

Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Catherine Atkinson said: The government's response to our Access to Justice: Legal Aid report is disappointing. We acknowledge the crisis it inherited and support its ambition for a sustainable system that people can trust and access when they need it. But its response lacks the commitments needed to deliver that vision. 

Far too many people are being denied the legal advice and representation they urgently need. Our report laid bare the scale of the barriers they face. Financial eligibility thresholds remain unacceptably low, having failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living, while falling provider numbers are putting essential help increasingly out of reach. Defendants face the prospect of prison without legal advice or representation. As plans to extend magistrates' sentencing powers move forward, the case for immediate intervention could not be more urgent.

A legal aid system cannot be sustained by monitoring its decline and promising to explore solutions later. The government must revisit our recommendations and outline what action it will take. A system that people cannot qualify for or access, and that providers cannot sustainably deliver, is no system at all.

As legal aid approaches its 80th anniversary in 2029, we need to secure its future for the next 80 years. That requires action now.