Proposed fee uplift not enough to fix civil legal aid crisis, says CILEX

21 March 2024

The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) proposed civil legal aid fee uplift is “insufficient to sustain the legal aid market” and will not be enough to encourage providers to take up legally aided work in housing and immigration, CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) says.

While acknowledging that the uplift – from an hourly rate ranging from £45.95 – £48.74, to £65.35 – £69.30 (non-London/London) – was both welcome and “monumental” in the light of current budgetary restraints, CILEX does not believe it will attract new lawyers into the sector or even sustain current levels of civil legal aid provision at a time of growing demand.

CILEX’s response to the MoJ’s consultation – Civil Legal Aid: Towards a Sustainable Future – also highlights the “administrative burden” currently placed on providers which acts as a barrier to taking on higher volumes of work. It supports plans to simplify fee structures, saying this will “benefit practitioners” and “relieve some of the substantial pressure they face”.

Its response highlights access to justice concerns and the diminishing number of legal aid providers available to take on more legal aid work, impacting on recruitment of the next generation of lawyers, which in turn will see “the pool of legal aid providers becoming smaller and smaller”.

CILEX “cautiously agrees” that minimum hourly rates for ‘controlled work’ (initial advice and assistance and representation in the first-tier tribunals) and licensed work (where legal representation before a court is likely to be needed) should be made the same to reduce administrative time and costs. The complexity of the work, the administrative differences between the two types and the level of expertise required should, however, be considered when fees are calculated “to complement the differences in work”.

While agreeing with the harmonisation of fees relating to all ‘routine letters out and telephone calls’, CILEX disagrees with the harmonisation of ‘travelling and waiting time’ and ‘attendance at court, conference or tribunal with Counsel’ given “the varying complexity of the case, as well as the fact that often (albeit there are exceptions) no work is being done whilst travelling and waiting in comparison to attendance at conferences, tribunals or court”.

CILEX’s response also stated that limits to the number of controlled work matters that can be carried out where the client does not attend the provider’s office should be removed entirely and that “practitioners can use their professional judgement based on their experience and client needs to provide remote or in-person advice flexibly”.

CILEX President Yanthé Richardson says: “By acknowledging that there is a crisis in civil legal aid and proposing an uplift in fees, the government is taking a positive step towards reversing the decline in the sector. Unfortunately, as it stands these reforms will not be enough to increase the number of firms willing to take on legal aid work and to train the young people who will be the housing and immigration lawyers of the future.

“The simplification of fee structures will relieve some of the pressure on legal aid providers facing severe administrative burdens but further incentives will be needed if we are to ensure we have a sustainable legal aid sector that enables access to justice for all.”

—

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Louise Eckersley, Black Letter Communications on 0203 567 1208 or email at [email protected]

Kerry Jack, Black Letter Communications on 07525 756 599 or email at [email protected]

Notes to editors:

CILEX (The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) is one of the three main professional bodies covering the legal profession in England and Wales. The approximately 18,000 -strong membership is made up of CILEX Lawyers, Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals and other legal professionals.

CILEX pioneered the non-university route into law and recently launched the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), a new approach to on-the-job training that marries legal knowledge with the practical skills, behaviours and commercial awareness needed by lawyers in the 2020s.

The CPQ is a progressive qualification framework that creates a workforce of specialist legal professionals, providing a career ladder from Paralegal through to Advanced Paralegal and ultimately full qualification as a CILEX Lawyer. CILEX Lawyers can become partners in law firms, coroners, judges or advocates in open court.

CILEX members come from more diverse backgrounds than other parts of the legal profession:

77% of its lawyers are women
16% are from ethnic minority backgrounds
- 8% are Asian or Asian British
- 5% are Black or Black British
- 3% are from a mixed ethnic background
85% attended state schools
33% are the first generation in their family to attend university
Only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.
85% attended state schools
33% are the first generation in their family to attend university
Only 3% of its members have a parent who is a lawyer.

CILEX members are regulated through an independent body, CILEx Regulation. It is the only regulator covering paralegals.