Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Sackman and Ben Maguire

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

5. What steps he is taking to increase access to legal aid for people in rural areas.

[The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)]

Legal aid can be a lifeline and should be available to those who need it, wherever they happen to live. This Government have made substantial new investment in legal aid—both in criminal legal aid, with an additional £92 million a year, and in civil legal aid, where we are investing an additional £20 million a year.

[Ben Maguire]

I thank the Minister for that response. Would she please join me in congratulating Coodes Solicitors, which provides a weekly pro bono surgery to my constituents in Bodmin? Firms such as Coodes face, in its own words, so much unnecessary bureaucracy and hoops to jump through when providing legal aid. As the Minister highlights, I understand that the Government have made some progress towards making the financial investment in the system that is needed, but is she aware of the incredible burden of this needless bureaucracy and will she please commit to simplifying public funding contracts?

[Sarah Sackman]

I thank the hon. Member for his question, and I commend all lawyers who provide pro bono support to their clients, which is incredibly commendable. However, it is ultimately a sticking-plaster and no substitute for a well-functioning legal aid system. That is why, as well as increasing fees, we are investing in the transformation of the IT digital platform to enable providers to cut through some of that red tape.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Sackman and Ben Maguire

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

I welcome the Solicitor General to her place, and I very much look forward to working with her. I echo the comments of others welcoming the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling (Helen Grant), to her place. The Solicitors Regulation Authority recently labelled the Legal Services Board’s damning report into the handling of the Axiom Ince fraud as merely an opinion. Can the Solicitor General clarify what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the regulator is properly regulated? What actions are being taken by her Department to prevent similar economic crimes to ensure that all constituents, including mine in North Cornwall—one of whom is in the Gallery today—can have confidence in our legal system?

[The Solicitor General]

I welcome the hon. Member to his place. He raises an incredibly important point. This Government in general are committed to raising standards and rebuilding trust in the justice system. That means regulators working effectively with investigators in the public interest. He will know that, in accordance with long-established practice, it would not be proper for me to comment on the specific case that he mentions, but I can assure him that we will be working to ensure that regulators are working effectively with investigators in the public interest.