Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of community care lawyers in the light of the findings of the report by Dr Jo Wilding, Community Care Legal Aid in England and Wales: Urgent help needed, published in July.

This Government recognises the vital work of Community Care lawyers in supporting those who are vulnerable, and the importance legal aid can have in helping vulnerable people access justice.

The Government recognises the pressures facing civil legal aid and is investing in the sector. We have secured additional funding of over £200 million over the Spending Review period for legal aid transformation, recovery from the cyber-attack, and for moving our legacy systems to a modern and secure technology platform. The transformation programme aims to support sustainability for all providers – including those undertaking community care legal aid work – by ensuring new digital systems streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens.

In preparation for the 2028 Standard Civil Contract, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) will engage with stakeholders to gather views on how best to support the sustainability of the market. These insights will inform LAA’s approach and help shape future contracts that support providers in delivering high-quality legal aid services.

The Government is making significant investments in legal aid. We are delivering the first major fee uplifts for civil legal aid since 1996, increasing spend on immigration and housing work by £20 million per annum once fully implemented. Whilst these investments are not targeted at community care legal aid specifically, they are important steps towards improving services and sustainability across the civil legal aid system.