Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 May 2026
Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to Treasury Minute Update: Value for Money from Legal Aid, 14 May 2026
Summary
The Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary writes to the Public Accounts Committee chair notifying of a revised implementation date for a 2024 legal aid value-for-money recommendation. The Department is moving the delivery date for recommendation 1 from May 2026 to October 2026 to align with parallel work on a related January 2026 follow-up report, including a legal aid provider survey and independent demand study.
Key findings
- Implementation of recommendation 1 ('Value for Money from Legal Aid', 2024 report) deferred from May 2026 to October 2026
- Delay justified by need to align with recommendation 3 from January 2026 Ministry of Justice follow-up report, both addressing legal aid demand evidence
- Key analytical work underway includes a legal aid provider survey (spring/summer 2026) and independent civil legal aid demand study (reported April 2026)
- Department asserts delivering early would risk partial response; consolidated approach better reflects committee expectations across both reports
- Department commits to setting out progress to date in forthcoming Spring progress report before full October 2026 implementation
Tone
ProceduralTopics
legal-aidpublic-financevalue-for-money
Key actors
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE, Ministry of Justice, Legal Aid Agency, Public Accounts Committee
Notable line
“… implementing recommendation 1 prior to the completion of this work would risk a partial response to the Committee …”
Key Quotes
“This change is necessary to align delivery of recommendation 1 with recommendation 3 from the January 2026 Ministry of Justice: follow - up report.”
“This date adjustment reflects our assessment that implementing recommendation 1 prior to the completion of this work would risk a partial response to the Committee …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗