Legal Aid Scheme: Coronavirus

(asked on 1st February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funds he is allocating for legal aid to people who have lost their income as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Alex Chalk Portrait
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This question was answered on 9th February 2021

Legal aid plays an important role in supporting access to justice; that is why we spent £1.7bn on civil and criminal legal aid in 2019-20. Individual decisions about legal aid funding are taken by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), which is responsible for administering the legal aid scheme and takes funding decisions independently of the Ministry of Justice.

We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of challenges for the provision of legal aid. The Government is committed to maintaining access to justice during this time. For civil legal aid, individuals who have lost their income (or suffered a reduction in their income) who apply for funding will be assessed on their current circumstances.

Individuals who are claiming Universal Credit or some other means-tested benefits will be deemed to qualify automatically within the income threshold; and will qualify for non-contributory legal aid (subject to passing any capital and merits test). As there is not a capital assessment for criminal legal aid, if an applicant’s income is within the income threshold they will qualify for non-contributory legal aid.

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