Legal Aid

Justice written question – answered at on 9 December 2009.

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Photo of Karen Buck Karen Buck Labour, Regent's Park and Kensington North

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice

(1) what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the legal aid impact test;

(2) what guidance his Department provides to other Departments on completing the legal aid impact test; and what models and analysis are used to assess the impact of proposed legislation on the legal aid budget;

(3) what research his Department has conducted into the effectiveness of the legal aid impact test.

Photo of Bridget Prentice Bridget Prentice Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice

The legal aid and judicial impact test (LAJIT) was introduced in 2005 to formalise the arrangements under which Departments responsible for policy change had an obligation to meet the downstream costs falling to other agencies. The purpose of the LAJIT is to ensure that policy makers are aware of the potential impact that their proposals could have on legal aid and the courts so that resources can be better managed and, where appropriate, funding secured from other Government Departments. The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) has oversight of the overall Impact Assessment process across Government, and owns the relevant templates and guidance. Its guidance toolkit includes specific guidance for policy makers in Departments on the LAJIT.

The models and analysis used to assess the impact of proposed policy changes on the legal aid budget include identifying instances where legal aid could potentially be required and applying suitable unit costs. These estimates are agreed between the MoJ and the Department introducing the policy.

No formal research or assessment of the legal aid impact test has been carried out. The BRE is, however, revising the impact assessment template, toolkit and guidance in order to promote the continued improvement of impact assessments. This work is due for completion in the first half of 2010. As part of that project, Ministry of Justice officials are working with BRE to review the legal aid impact test.

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