Legal Aid Scheme: Finance

Ministry of Justice written question – answered at on 17 March 2021.

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Photo of James Daly James Daly Conservative, Bury North

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support the long-term financial sustainability of criminal legal aid.

Photo of Alex Chalk Alex Chalk Assistant Whip, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice

The Government is taking steps to review the long-term sustainability of the Criminal Legal Aid market. Last year, as part of phase one of this review, we injected up to £51m per annum into Criminal Legal Aid, in areas of work that practitioners told us mattered the most. This year we launched the second phase, an independent review, led by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC, that will consider the sustainability of the whole Criminal Legal Aid system so that it can meet demand now and into the future, provide an effective and efficient service that ensures value for money for the taxpayer and provide defendants with high-quality advice from a diverse range of practitioners. Sir Christopher will submit his recommendations to the Lord Chancellor later this year.

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