Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2017 to Question 3597, whether people enforcing their rights (a) through the UK judicial system and (b) contained within the Withdrawal Agreement will be eligible for legal aid.

The scope of civil legal aid is set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), which came into force on 1 April 2013.

In order for a person to be granted civil legal aid, both their income and capital must be within specified limits as set out in the means test. In addition, their case needs to have a reasonable chance of winning (the merits test).

The Government does not currently put any nationality or residence restrictions on accessing civil legal aid. However, under LASPO civil legal aid is generally limited to proceedings taking place in England and Wales.