Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) administrative and (b) regulatory challenges that the ILCA scheme may place on SME law firms.

The Department has engaged with a range of relevant stakeholders to help shape policy proposals. We have engaged with firms that undertake legal aid work, as well as representative bodies, through bilateral engagement, legal aid providers’ roundtables and our recent consultation.

We have also been working with relevant experts to consider the potential impacts of an ILCA scheme and the consultation collected evidence on the administration of the scheme and regulatory challenges.

We are currently considering all the evidence received through engagement as part of our ongoing policy development and consultation response.