Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that acquitted defendants in criminal cases who were deemed ineligible for legal aid are able to recover costs to cover their legal fees.

If a defendant is acquitted at the magistrates’ court and did not apply for criminal legal aid or applied and was financially ineligible, he/she can recover their legal costs at legal aid rates; at the Crown Court, an acquitted defendant can only recover their legal costs at legal aid rates if he/she first applied for and was refused criminal legal aid.

On 7 February 2019, the Government announced a review of the legal aid means tests. The review will consider the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and their interaction with the wider criteria, as well as assessing the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly for the vulnerable.

Upon conclusion of the review, expected by Summer 2020, we will publish a full public consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area.