Its paper, ‘Civil legal aid: towards a sustainable future’, published this week, proposes the first rise in civil legal aid fees in nearly 30 years. Overall spend will rise 24% for housing and 30% for asylum and immigration work—with the aim of increasing the availability of legal advice for those at risk of losing their home, asylum seekers, people with immigration issues and victims of modern slavery, trafficking and domestic abuse.
Individual lawyers will see their rates rise to a minimum £65.35 per hour (£69.30 in London) or there will be a 10% uplift, whichever is higher.
Justice minister Sarah Sackman KC, in her foreword to the paper, writes: ‘We are determined to nurse this critical sector back to health, rebuilding a legal aid system that is sustainable, effective and efficient.’
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said the investment would ‘positively impact the community by ensuring there is adequate representation for issues such as evictions and housing disrepair’.
The eight-week consultation is available here and closes on 21 March.
