Proposed increase to civil legal aid fees – our response

2 December 2024 – Friday’s announcement by the Lord Chancellor of a consultation on an increase in legal aid fees in housing, immigration, and asylum is a significant shift in government policy after decades of neglect towards publicly funded legal work.

It is reassuring to see the government acknowledge the crisis that exists in these practice areas. The previous fee regime, unchanged for 28 years, made legal aid practice unsustainable.

As was set out in our response to the Review of Civil Legal Aid, this has had an acute effect on junior practitioners with many feeling forced to leave the profession in search of a sustainable legal career. As well as impacting on aspiring practitioners who were unable to find opportunities to enter the field and develop their practice.

The importance of legal aid cannot be understated. It is crucial to any functioning justice system, allowing proper representation and advice irrelevant of a person’s means. Young and aspiring practitioners play a crucial role in securing the future of these systems.

YLAL have made clear over a number of years that a failure to attract new practitioners into legal aid threatens the entire justice system. We welcome the positive step the government has taken in acknowledging this.

YLAL look forward to working with both our members and partner organisations on the consultation to address fee increases in all legal aid areas. This will promote a legal aid scheme that continues to attract junior practitioners and enables them to develop into the future leaders of legal aid practice.