Committee publication · Correspondence · 7 July 2026
Correspondence from Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, dated 30 June 2026: Follow-up to the oral evidence session held on 9 June 2026
From: Justice Committee
Inquiry: Access to Justice
Summary
Sarah Sackman KC, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, provides written follow-up evidence to the Justice Committee's 9 June 2026 oral evidence session on the Access to Justice inquiry. She addresses criminal duty solicitor workforce trends, civil legal aid procurement coverage gaps, government-funded training schemes, impacts of the LAA cyber attack, Crown Court eligibility thresholds, and pending disclosure issues with police forces.
Key findings
- Criminal duty solicitor numbers have declined 25% from 2017 to 2026 (5,240 to 3,944), though the decline has slowed in recent years with a 1% increase in 2026; the government has invested £116m annually in criminal legal aid fee uplifts targeting duty solicitors.
- All 189 duty schemes remain fully covered; three schemes (Worksop & East Retford, Hinckley, Torbay & Teignbridge) have moved to single providers with 1-4 duty solicitors each, managed through neighbouring scheme arrangements and panels.
- In Housing and Debt, 21 of 134 procurement areas lack face-to-face provision (12 without outreach coverage); in Family law, 9 areas have fewer than the standard 5 providers, with Trafford now having only 1 provider.
- Criminal barrister pupillage match-funding scheme is under development; the Legal Aid Training Grant (£1.5m total) trained 31 trainee solicitors across 26 providers from September 2023 to November 2025.
- LAA cyber attack contingency measures have been largely withdrawn; 96 new criminal and 46 new civil providers joined between May 2025 and April 2026, indicating market stability; new security measures implemented including SiLAS tool with multi-factor authentication.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Sarah Sackman KC MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Jane Harbottle CBE, Legal Aid Agency, Ministry of Justice, Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board
Notable line
“The decline appears to have slowed in recent years, with a slight increase of 1% in”
Key Quotes
“That is a serious concern. The decline appears to have slowed in recent years, with a slight increase of 1% in”
“At present, all 189 duty schemes are fully covered, and the new rotas have been operating successfully since 1 October”
“This continued entry of providers into the market suggests that the cyber-attack has not undermined confidence or triggered a loss of capacity, reflecting the effectiveness of the measures taken to maintain service continuity.”
“… the disposable annual income calculation allows for the deduction of tax, NI, actual housing and council tax costs as well as actual childcare and child maintenance payments.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗