3. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the support available to Welsh residents for legal expenses? OQ61315

Thank you for your question. We engage regularly with our legal sector stakeholders, third sector advice providers through the National Advice Network and regional advice networks, and the Pro Bono Committee for Wales regarding legal support available to people in Wales.

Counsel General, you will be aware that the Lord Chancellor is being taken to the High Court over claims that legal aid fees are so low, they are preventing lawyers from providing representation for thousands of people who are eligible for it. The Conservatives are letting victims down, with many unable to claim support for cases, including victims of domestic abuse, torture and trafficking.

Does the Counsel General agree with me that access to justice has for far too long been out of reach for most vulnerable people and that we need to see these barriers, financial or otherwise, removed as soon as possible?

Well, thank you for that question on a matter that we have commented on on a number of occasions. I do fully agree with you; I think the diminution of legal aid over several decades is something that has very serious consequences, in that it now excludes a large number of the most vulnerable people