Legal Aid cyber-attack aftermath and HMP Dartmoor scrutinised by PAC
The session will hear from senior officials from the MoJ along with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), as the Committee takes follow-up evidence on concerns raised in its scrutiny of the justice system in the current Parliament.
Meeting details
The aftermath of the Legal Aid Agency cyber-attack will be a topic for questions from members. The attack exposed sensitive personal data of legal aid applicants, and the Committee will seek an update on the resulting disruption’s impact on access to justice and existing pressures on legal aid providers.
The PAC will also discuss with witnesses several weaker aspects of the Government’s response to its predecessor Committee’s Value for Money of Legal Aid report. The session will likely cover two areas in particular in which the MoJ and LAA did not go far enough in addressing the Committee’s recommendations - access to justice for vulnerable users, and assessing the wider costs of legal aid reforms to the system.
The session will also see an examination of the quality of HMPPS’ decision-making when it renewed its lease for HMP Dartmoor in 2022. The National Audit Office highlighted this as an example of poor value for money caused by the prison capacity crisis, which saw HMPPS renewing its lease on Dartmoor in 2022 despite detecting high levels of radon gas there in 2020. The prison is currently rented for £1.5m/annum, and remains closed.