LAPG research on the ‘hidden costs’ of delivering legal aid
Senior staff working through the weekend. Employees working well beyond their contracted hours. Weeks spent preparing for audits. LAPG research suggests practitioners are spending around a quarter of their time on unpaid work propping up the legal aid system. Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) has today published the findings of a study on ‘non-chargeable work’... continue reading
Response to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announcement on Increases to Housing and Immigration Civil Legal Aid Fees
Housing Law Practitioners’ Association (HLPA), Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) and Law Centres Network (LCN) respond to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announcement on Increases to Housing and Immigration Civil Legal Aid Fees 2 July 2025 HLPA, LAPG, ILPA and LCN welcome today’s confirmation from the MOJ that fees for housing... continue reading
LAPG’s response to the civil legal aid fees consultation
We have published our response to the MOJ’s civil legal aid fees consultation: Civil legal aid: Towards a sustainable future The MOJ consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/civil-legal-aid-towards-a-sustainable-future/civil-legal-aid-towards-a-sustainable-future We welcome the proposals to increase Immigration & Asylum and Housing & Debt fees and would like to see these changes implemented as soon as possible. As the... continue reading
LAPG submits its response to the MOJ RoCLA Call for Evidence
On 21 February 2024 we submitted our response to the Ministry of Justice’s Review of Civil Legal Aid Call for Evidence. Our response provides a detailed explanation of the myriad issues undermining the ability of legal aid practitioners to meet the needs of clients. In particular, we focused on the following key, overarching issues: There... continue reading
LAPG publishes response to MOJ consultation on the future of housing possession duty schemes
We have today published our response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation: Housing Legal Aid: the way forward – A consultation on the future of the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme. In our response we acknowledge the positive and constructive concepts mooted by the MOJ to improve both the long-term viability of duty schemes and... continue reading
LAPG Annual Legal Aid Conference – 22-26 February 2021
Join us for LAPG’s first foray into a fully digital conference. With a superb mix of workshops delivering practitioner-focused content. We have a packed calendar of events to help you develop new skills and refine your existing ones, sessions to enable you to feed into policy development and social events. With launch and closing events,... continue reading
Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes – LAPG response to the LAA’s consultation
The government is set to lift the stay on housing possession cases on 23 August 2020. Many have voiced considerable concern about the potential flood of evictions that will arise once court proceedings resume due to the economic impact of the pandemic. The MoJ and HMCTS have been working closely with legal aid providers and... continue reading
LAPG Response to the LAA Consultation: Payments on Account
This consultation was launched by the LAA on 2 June 2020 and followed intervention by LAPG and other bodies requesting more flexibility over the POA system and other forms of interim or staged payment mechanisms to alleviate cash flow concerns for legal aid providers. The LAA has proposed an amendment to the Costs Assessment Guidance... continue reading
LAPG Response to the LAA Consultation: Amendments to the Cost Assessment Guidance (to Facilitate LAA Assessment of all Civil Bills)
The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the functioning of the court system, with all courts initially closing and then a partial and gradual resumption of hearings in different geographic and practice areas. Over the past few months, some have re-opened but with limited capacity to manage the backlog of cases. One consequence... continue reading