Committees

The Future of Legal Aid

Inquiry

This inquiry is looking at the major challenges facing legal aid clients and providers and how they might be tackled.

The legal aid system in England and Wales was fundamentally changed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LAPSO). Since then, there have been several legislative changes and post-legislative reviews of LASPO.

We are especially interested in hearing about:

  • The sustainability of the legal aid market
  • The impact of covid-19 and the increasing reliance on digital technology to deliver legal advice and court services.

Read the call for evidence to find out more about the inquiry.

Read a summary of our key recommendations to the Government.

Reports, special reports and government responses

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Third Special Report - The Future of Legal Aid: Updated Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report of Session 2021–22
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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190KB
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HC 698
Special Report
3rd Report - The Future of Legal Aid
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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1MB
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HC 70
Report
Response to this report
4th Special Report - The Future of Legal Aid: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report
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254KB
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HC 843
Special Report
4th Special Report - The Future of Legal Aid: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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254KB
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HC 843
Special Report

Correspondence

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Letter to Mike Freer MP, Minister for Courts, Legal Services and International, dated 24 January 2023, follow up from the session on 17 January 2023
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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128KB
Correspondence
Letter from Mike Freer MP, Minister for Courts, Legal Services and International, dated 9 February 2023, follow up from the session on 17 January 2023
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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373KB
Correspondence
Letter from Lubna Shuja, President of the Law Society, dated 30 January 2023, following the evidence session on 17 January
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
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281KB
Correspondence

Oral evidence transcripts

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17 January 2023
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
Witnesses Lubna Shuja (President at The Law Society), Mike Freer MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Justice), and Daniel Flury (Director of Access to Justice Policy at Ministry of Justice)
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289KB
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340KB
Oral Evidence
15 November 2022
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
Witnesses Richard Miller (Head of Justice at Law Society), Daniel Bonich (Chair at Criminal Law Solicitors Association, and Managing Partner at Clarke Kiernan Solicitors LLP), and Kerry Morgan (Honorary Secretary at Criminal Law Solicitors Association, and Director at Morgan Brown Solicitors)
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242KB
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275KB
Oral Evidence
27 April 2022
Inquiry The Future of Legal Aid
Witnesses Mark Fenhalls QC (Chair at Bar Council), Stephanie Boyce (President at Law Society), James Cartlidge MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Justice), and Jelena Lentzos (Deputy Director for Legal Aid Policy at Ministry of Justice)
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292KB
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558KB
Oral Evidence

Written evidence

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Max Hill QC (Director of Public Prosecutions at Crown Prosecution Service) (LEG0104)
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47KB
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7KB
Ministry of Justice (LEG0102)
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148KB
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86KB
LawWorks (LEG0088)
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267KB
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173KB

Other publications

No other publications published.

Contact us

  • Email: justicecom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 6684 (general enquiries) | 020 7219 3051 (media enquiries)
  • Address: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA