Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the past year, what proportion of immigration legal aid providers have (1) opened no new legal aid cases, and (2) opened no more than 30 new legal aid cases.

Between April 2022 and March 2023, 7% (11) of immigration legal aid providers opened no new cases and 15% (23) opened no more than 30 new cases.

In total there are 152 legal aid providers who hold a contract to provide immigration and asylum legal aid service. The above data reflects active immigration work reported between April 2022 and March 2023, inclusive.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) delivers services for immigration legal aid by Procurement Area and Access Point geographical area. These are procured and delivered at office level. A provider could therefore have opened over 30 new cases, spread across several office locations with varied levels of active immigration casework. There are no Procurement Areas in which no new immigration legal aid cases have been opened.

The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services is met across the country. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.