Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2026
Correspondence from the Ministry of Justice relating to rural proofing policies, dated 14 January 2026
Summary
The Ministry of Justice responds to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's December 2025 inquiry into rural proofing policies. MoJ outlines its approach to ensuring equitable access to justice services across rural communities through infrastructure planning, staff capability development, and service design. The letter provides specific examples from prison construction, probation delivery, court digitalisation, and legal aid provision.
Key findings
- MoJ embeds geographic awareness in estate planning and operations, with 62% of prisons over 50 years old and many located in rural areas; HMP Millsike (opened 2025) delivered 45% local supply during construction and created approximately 800 construction jobs.
- Probation Service structured into 12 regions and 108 delivery units to allow regional flexibility; staffing and budgets allocated by caseload profile and office locations chosen based on offender distribution.
- HM Courts and Tribunal Service introduced Digital Support Service (since June 2022) to address rural digital exclusion; re-procurement process considering regional delivery model to address longer travel distances.
- Legal Aid Agency commissions services by geographic procurement areas requiring at least five family law providers per area; £20 million annual increase in Housing & Debt and Immigration & Asylum fees (first major increase since 1996) to improve rural provider capacity.
- Criminal legal aid duty solicitor provision is demand-led with travel cost reimbursement for schemes with fewer than two providers; £34 million additional annual funding for advocates and £92 million for solicitors committed to sector sustainability.
Tone
FactualTopics
rural-policyaccess-to-justicelegal-aidcriminal-justicedigital-infrastructure
Key actors
David Lammy, Alistair Carmichael, Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, HM Courts and Tribunal Service, Legal Aid Agency, Defra, We are Group
Notable line
“Our focus is on maintaining a system that is both inclusive and responsive to the needs of all communities, regardless of geography.”
Key Quotes
“The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) demonstrates a commitment to equitable access to justice for rural communities through infrastructure planning and service design …”
“Our focus is on maintaining a system that is both inclusive and responsive to the needs of all communities, regardless of geography.”
“Many of our sites are in rural areas, so rural proofing is embedded in our site selection process.”
“During construction, over 45 per cent of supply came from within 50 miles of the site; approximately 50 per cent of site-based labour was local and c.800 jobs were created during construction.”
“This is the first major increase since 1996 and will result in an increase of £20 million a year once fully implemented.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗