Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of levels of access to legal aid in the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency; and what steps his Department is taking to improve access.

This Government recognises the important role that legal aid plays in helping some of the most vulnerable in society access legal advice.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate access to legal aid services in Ely and East Cambridgeshire across all categories of legal aid.

We have confirmed that we are increasing fees for all housing & debt, and immigration & asylum legal aid work. This is a significant investment of £20 million a year – the first increase since 1996. In addition, we are looking at other potential changes that could support providers, for example, (civil) contractual requirements regarding provider offices and limits to the provision of remote legal aid that providers say are burdensome. Any changes would aim to give providers more autonomy in meeting client need, while maintaining effective in-person provision for clients who need this.

Further, in December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to help support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid sector. The consultation launched in May 2025, and we will publish the response later this year.

This is in addition to our response to the Crime Lower consultation, confirming an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel in certain circumstances. Together, these changes provided a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.