皇冠体育app

About the review

皇冠体育app Ministry of Justice undertook a review of Civil Legal Aid, which launched in January 2023.

皇冠体育app review considered the civil legal aid system in its entirety, from how services are procured and how well the current system works for users and providers, to how civil legal aid impacts the wider justice system.

皇冠体育app overarching summary report draws together the evidence gathered from each workstream. This report summarises evidence into themed conclusions, setting out some key challenges facing the legal aid system.

To support policy development, the review included 4 analytical workstreams as its comprehensive data-gathering approach:

1. Economic analysis of the functioning of the civil legal aid market

This workstream aimed to assess the current functioning of the civil legal aid market and identify the root causes of its problems. 皇冠体育app research for this workstream was conducted by a research firm/consultancy, PA Consulting.

Two reports have been published from this workstream.

皇冠体育app Provider Survey Report (published in January 2024): This report presents the findings of a qualitative survey conducted in October 2023, exploring the experiences of providers, their motivations for working in legal aid, and the barriers they face. 皇冠体育app survey received 228 responses, representing approximately 18% of the civil legal aid market at the time.

皇冠体育app Market Research Report (published in November 2024): This report examines key issues in the civil legal aid market, such as demand and supply trends, recruitment and retention, and the financial viability of providing civil legal aid for providers. 皇冠体育appse issues are analysed to provide insights into the overall health and sustainability of the civil legal aid market.

2. Comparative analysis of domestic and international civil legal aid systems

This workstream involved a comparative analysis of six domestic and international civil legal aid systems: Australia, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands and the USA, and within the United Kingdom, Scotland. 皇冠体育app goal was to identify promising approaches to delivering civil legal aid to inform policy development for the system in England and Wales. This analysis involved collaboration with experts, practitioners, and academics from these systems. 皇冠体育app Open Innovation Team, an in-house government consultancy service, conducted the analysis.

皇冠体育app workstream鈥檚 concluding report was published in March 2024.

3. Social research on user experiences with civil legal aid

This workstream, now concluded, sought to strengthen the evidence base on user experiences of the civil legal aid system. It investigated user awareness of the system, barriers to access, experiences in securing and working with a provider, and the complexities of legal aid processes. 皇冠体育app workstream is based on social research, and used insights gained from qualitative interviews with users, trusted intermediaries, and legal aid providers.

All 3 reports have been published from this workstream, each offering different insights by focusing on the user experience from distinct perspectives:

皇冠体育app first report, published in November 2024, focuses on the perspectives of users and trusted intermediaries.

皇冠体育app second report, published in November 2024, focuses on the perspectives of providers.

罢丑别听third report, published in January 2025, is a User Experience Literature Review. It complements the findings of the above user research reports, and contextualises the research amongst the broader evidence base.

4. Data publications

This workstream, now concluded, is intended to provide key descriptive information about solicitors and barristers who do civil legal aid. From a provider-centric view, it summarises changes in the composition of the market and demographic trends over time.

All 11 reports have been published from this workstream.

皇冠体育app Advocacy Research Report (published in November 2024): This report explores the experiences of advocates who represent civil legal aid users in court. Through qualitative interviews with advocates (barristers and non-barristers) and instructing solicitors, it delves into the factors influencing solicitors鈥� selection of an advocate, the incentives and disincentives advocates experience in working in civil legal aid, and their perspectives on the sustainability of civil legal aid advocacy. 皇冠体育app research was conducted by an external research firm, IFF Research.

皇冠体育app Data Publications Overview Report (published in November 2024): This report provides summary data on practitioners (including barristers and solicitors) and providers in the civil legal aid market, highlighting changes in their composition over time. This analysis combines administrative data held by the Legal Aid Agency with the results of two data matching exercises: one between the MOJ and 皇冠体育app Law Society, relating to solicitors and solicitor firms doing civil legal aid, and the second between the MOJ and the Bar Council, relating to barristers doing civil legal aid.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Housing and Debt (published in January 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake housing & debt legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Immigration and Asylum (published in January 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake immigration and asylum legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Public law (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake public law legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Clinical negligence (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake clinical negligence legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Claims against public authorities (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake claims against public authorities legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Community care (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake community care legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Discrimination, education and welfare benefits (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake discrimination, education and welfare benefits legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Family (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake family legal aid work.

罢丑别听Data Publications Deep Dive Report on Mental health (published in March 2025): This report summarises key descriptive information about solicitors, barristers, and providers who undertake mental health legal aid work.

Review of Civil Legal Aid: call for evidence

皇冠体育app Review of Civil Legal Aid also launched a call for evidence, which opened on 10 January 2024 and closed on 21 February 2024. It invited interested parties at the heart of the civil legal aid system to submit evidence as part of the Review, strengthening its evidence base and feeding into the development of short and long-term policy solutions.聽罢丑别听Call for Evidence Summary Report, published in January 2025, presents the responses received.

Terms of Reference

Further information on the purpose, outcomes and scope of the Review as a whole can be found in the (PDF, 125 KB, 6 pages).