Drop in civil legal aid providers after new contracts have been awarded
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has announced that 1,236 firms have been awarded civil legal aid contracts, a significant drop compared to last year, reinforcing long-standing concerns about the continuing exodus from civil legal aid work.
For the first time, there has been a drop in the number* of available civil legal aid providers after new contracts have been awarded, while areas without housing legal aid have now more than doubled.**
All of us need a safe and stable home, meaning we all need access to housing advice when fighting eviction by a rogue landlord or tackling disrepair, or risk losing our homes.
Data from Crisis has found that the number of people sleeping rough is now 61% higher than it was a decade ago.
UK government statistics show that 117,450 households were in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2024, up 4.3% from the previous quarter and 12.3% from the same time last year.
Law Society of England and Wales president Richard Atkinson said: “Legal aid is a vital public service that means citizens can have their voices heard. A lack of access to it has implications on our living situation, health and our children’s education.
“It is concerning that housing legal aid is now severely lacking. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, we should be entitled to decent housing and protection from eviction by rogue landlords.
“It is particularly important as the government seeks to reform the rental market through the Renters’ Rights Bill, which the Law Society has welcomed, that tenants should be able to get advice when threatened with eviction.
“Research by the Law Society shows that 43.6% of England and Wales do not have a housing legal aid provider in their local authority area, a figure that has grown by around 6.6% since 2019. These recent figures show further reductions and less access to urgently needed advice.”
Richard Atkinson concluded: “We know*** that many housing legal aid providers are making the difficult decision to exit the market, as they have been pushed to work grossly excessive working hours to support their clients and are unable to run a viable business.
“The previous government pushed the civil justice system to the brink of collapse by starving it of investment for decades. This government has rightly recognised that immigration legal aid is in urgent need of new investment. This evidence reinforces the fact that the same applies across civil legal aid and we hope the new government will respond accordingly.
“The prime minister and his government have a chance to right the wrongs of the previous administration by properly funding civil legal aid. But time is running out as suppliers continue to leave the market in droves, they must act now, delay is not an option.”
Notes to editors
*The last published annual figure (2023/24) of civil legal aid providers was 1,320.
**There are now 20 procurement areas without provision. This is higher than on 31 August, when there were nine procurement areas without face-to-face provision.
***Read the Law Society and Frontier Economics’ report research on the sustainability of civil legal aid.
The 2024 Standard Civil Contract covers all categories of civil and family legal aid.
Find out more about the 2024 Standard Civil Contract
The previous provider numbers are as follows:
- 2018/19: 1,565
- 2019/20: 1,500
- 2020/21: 1,443
- 2021/22: 1,358
- 2022/23: 1,289
- 2023/24: 1,320
Find out about our legal aid desert maps
Read Crisis's statistics in full
Read the government’s statistics on statutory homelessness in England: January to March 2024
Read the LAA’s directory of providers
About the Law Society
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Press office contact: Naomi Jeffreys | 020 8049 3928