Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on legal aid for domestic abuse victims in each of the last 10 years; how many domestic abuse victims have been denied access to legal aid in each year since means testing was introduced; and what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse in each year since means testing was introduced.

The requested information is not held centrally. It is not a requirement for an individual to disclose if they have been a victim of domestic abuse when applying for legal aid unless they are applying for legal aid in connection with a protective order or private family law cases under the domestic violence gateway. Consequently, it is not possible to specify how much legal aid has been spent across the whole of the legal aid scheme on domestic abuse victims in each of the last ten years.

Expenditure on legal aid for domestic abuse victims to obtain a protective order, such as a non-molestation order, an occupation order or a forced marriage protection order is published within the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics (table 6.5) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-july-to-september-2021. This expenditure only captures the cost of civil representation i.e. where court proceedings are issued and covers the period from 1 April 2008 to 30 September 2021.

The official statistics (tables 6.8-6.10) also provide data regarding volumes of applications for legal aid received in connection with private family proceedings under the domestic violence gateway introduced on 1 April 2013. The domestic violence gateway requires the applicant to provide evidence that they have experienced or at risk of experiencing domestic abuse in order to bring family legal aid services into scope. The official statistics include information about the number of unsuccessful applications submitted under the domestic violence gateway. Unsuccessful applications will include cases where legal aid was refused (whether due to financial eligibility, application of the merits criteria or failure to provide compliant gateway evidence), where the application was withdrawn or discontinued at the applicant’s request or where the application was rejected for administrative reasons.

The official statistics (table 6.1) include details of the number of applications that were unsuccessful (for any reason including where the application was withdrawn by the individual) in each category of law, including domestic abuse cases where legal aid was sought specifically in connection with an application for a protective order. However, it is not possible to specify the number of unsuccessful applications submitted by victims of domestic abuse across the whole of the legal aid scheme as this data is not recorded.

The majority of civil legal aid services, including proceedings relating to protective orders and private family law cases, have always been subject to means testing both under current and previous legal aid legislation.

Under current legal aid legislation, the Director of Legal Aid Casework has a discretion where the application related to proceedings concerning protective orders to waive the financial eligibility limits for both income and capital where she considers it equitable to do so. All applicants seeking protection from domestic abuse may access legal aid irrespective of their financial circumstances, although they may be asked to make a contribution towards the cost of the case from either income or capital.

On 15 March the Government launched a consultation on its proposals following a review of the legal aid means test, which include specific proposals to support better victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid in in connection with a protective order or other civil proceedings. For example, any disputed assets – including property – will not be included in a means assessment. This is much fairer for domestic abuse victims who are contesting a property and who cannot use their equity in that property to fund the legal proceedings.