Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will legal aid providers be able to submit (a) bills and (b) claims for payments on account following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We will not reopen the system until the appropriate steps have been taken to enable us to do so. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
In the interim, a number of contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. Contingency measures for billing, including an average payment scheme for civil cases, were implemented week commencing 27 May. For crime providers, processing of bills for graduated fee schemes resumed on 28 May, with payments resuming the following week.
On 27 June, emergency legislation came into force enabling the LAA to implement enhanced business continuity arrangements. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
Our priority remains to maintain access to justice and to ensure legal aid providers can continue to be paid in a timely manner. These enhanced measures are designed to support legal aid providers and their clients and to prevent a significant case backlog while contingency measures are in place.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the response to the Legal Aid Agency data breach on the implementation of the means test review proposals.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore systems following the criminal attack on our services. The impact on the system has affected implementation and delivery of intended legal aid fee uplifts in both crime and civil – we are working at pace to operationalise those commitments. More generally, the Government continues to give consideration to the financial criteria that governs legal aid eligibility.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to rebuild the existing case management system or develop a new system, following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans for the Legal Aid Agency’s case management system to be fully operational, following the recent data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to develop a new case management system following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department retains access to all data held in the case management systems impacted by the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.
We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.
Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.
The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.
The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the timely ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, signed by the UK in May 2025; and what assessment she has made of the legislative or regulatory measures required to ensure full domestic compliance with its provisions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I am delighted that the UK was an early signatory to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, which was signed in Luxembourg on 14 May 2025. Throughout the Convention’s development, the Ministry of Justice worked closely with the profession and the UK representative appointed to the drafting panel, to ensure the UK’s interests were effectively represented on key issues. The Department is conducting the necessary due diligence ahead of ratification including an assessment of whether any legislative or regulatory measures are required.
Once this is complete, the Convention and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum will be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Convention enters into force on the expiry of a period of 3 months after the date on which eight signatories, including at least six member States of the Council of Europe, have expressed their consent to be bound by it.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of a national older offender strategy to address the health needs of the ageing prison population.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Independent Sentencing Review considered issues relating to older cohorts including older prisoners as part of its remit. We have accepted in principle the vast majority of the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations and we will work with partners and the sector as we develop our approach.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28899 on Grenfell Tower Inquiry, what (a) criteria and (b) evidence her Department plans to use in prioritising its work on preventing future deaths; and with reference to the Justice Committee's (i) First Report of Session 2021–22 entitled The Coroner Service, HC 68 and (ii) Third Special Report of Session 2021–22 entitled The Coroner Service: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report, HC 675, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the coronial reforms recommended by that Committee.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is clear that Prevention of Future Death (PFD) reports are vital in contributing to public safety through learning from death investigation. We expect recipients to have a framework in place for considering any reports they receive, and to take their responses – and related actions - very seriously.
However, we recognise that more needs to be done to improve accessibility to information from PFD reports; and to ensure, particularly across government, that lessons are learned; that this learning is disseminated as quickly and widely as possible; and that it is effectively monitored and evaluated.
We are addressing this issue as part of the reformed, forward-looking framework for coroner services which we intend to deliver in light of the Justice Committee’s recent Inquiries into the Coroner Service, working closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners. The Government’s formal responses to the Committee were provided on 10 September 2021 and 10 December 2024 respectively.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of ineffective Crown Court trials which started after day one of the set trial date in 2024 reached completion.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Of all Crown Court trials that were ineffective between January and September 2024, 21% were subsequently effective on a later date (up to the end of September 2024). The remainder will include trials listed for a date beyond the end of September 2024, as well as those cases no longer requiring a trial date (for example the defendant has pleaded guilty).
Of all ineffective trials that subsequently started between January and September 2024, 80% had reached conclusion by the end of September 2024.
These data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. The data provided is the most recent available and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information. Recent data are especially vulnerable to quality checking and so may be subject to change.