Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review the level of fees payable to legal aid solicitors undertaking mental health legal aid work.

The Government recognises the vital work of mental health lawyers in supporting those who are vulnerable and I am grateful for all that they do to support their clients. We are committed to supporting the sustainability of the sector.

In preparation for the 2028 mental health legal aid contracts, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) will engage with stakeholders including the Mental Health Lawyers Association to gather views on how best to support the sustainability of the market. These insights will inform LAA’s approach and help shape future contracts that support providers in delivering high-quality legal aid services.

We have secured additional funding of over £200 million over the Spending Review period for legal aid transformation, recovery from the cyber-attack, and for moving our legacy systems to a modern and secure technology platform. The transformation programme aims to support sustainability for all providers – including those undertaking mental health legal aid work – by ensuring new digital systems streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens.

The Government is making significant investments in legal aid. We are delivering the first major fee uplifts for civil legal aid since 1996, increasing spend on immigration and housing work by £20 million per annum once fully implemented. Whilst these investments are not targeted at mental health legal aid specifically, they are important steps towards improving services and sustainability across the civil legal aid system.