The Ministry of Justice does not hold direct information on the number of law centres in England or those that have ceased operating.

Since 2015/16, the Legal Aid Agency has paid £57.2m to law centres across England and Wales, in respect of Civil and Criminal Legal Aid work. We are unable to provide the information from 2010 onwards as Legal Aid Provider Statistics data is only available from 2015/16 onwards.

Further, the Government has invested over £25m in grant funding for the not-for-profit sector including law centres since 2014.

In March 2023, the Government announced a new £10.4m Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support (IOTLS) grant. This grant runs from July 2023 until March 2025 and is being administered by the Access to Justice Foundation on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. The grant has been awarded to 59 organisations across England and Wales, including 15 law centres. This funding will enable organisations to provide legal advice and support to help people resolve their problems as early as possible.

The IOTLS grant builds on the previous legal support grants including the £4.8m Help Accessing Legal Support grant which ran from September 2022 until June 2023 and supported 52 front line organisations including 14 law centres.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations were awarded Government emergency grant funding totalling £5.4m via the Covid-19 Specialist Advice Service Scheme. Of the total amount, £3m was distributed to law centres via the Law Centres Network. This funding enabled organisations to continue providing critical services to the most vulnerable and prevented the closure of a number of law centres.

The Secretary of State for Justice has not had discussions with representatives from the Greater Manchester Law Centre since the start of this financial year.

Charities in the advice sector play a crucial role in helping people resolve their legal problems across England and Wales, which has been vital throughout Covid-19.

That is why MoJ has provided £5.4m in funding for not-for-profit providers of specialist legal advice. £3m of this was distributed to Law Centres.

We continue to work closely with our stakeholders, including the Law Centres Network, to ensure the advice sector can continue to provide support to the communities they serve.

Data on legal aid expenditure is released quarterly by the Legal Aid Agency, with the next release scheduled for September.

MoJ is continuing to work closely with the Legal Aid Agency and HMCTS to assess the impact of Covid-19 on legal aid provision, and we are working closely with the sector to identify whether further support is required.

We have already introduced measures to support the sector, such as paying for virtual hearings in the same way as in-person hearings, halting pursuit of outstanding debts, relaxing some evidence requirements, and encouraging legal practitioners to use existing avenues of financial help, such as the ability to apply for early payment for work already done on a case. We have already put in place measures to bring forward funding by expanding the scope and evidence requirements for payment for work in progress in Crown Court cases.

We have recently announced that we will be providing £5.4m in funding to not-for-profit providers of specialist legal advice, including Law Centres, which should go some way to helping them address immediate cashflow problems and ensure they remain able to provide support for the communities they serve.

We recognise the valuable role that Law Centres, and the wider not-for-profit advice sector, play in local communities across the country, and we support them in this vital work.

We are aware that Law Centres may experience financial issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have been working at pace to implement options to support them and other not-for-profits who provide this important service.

I am pleased to say that the Government is allocating £5.4 million in funding to the not for profit providers of specialist legal advice. £3 million of this has been earmarked specifically for Law Centres.

The £5.4m Government is allocating to advice providers will go some way to help them address their immediate cashflow problems. This will help protect these vital organisations from collapse, ensuring they remain able to provide support to the communities they serve.

It will also enable them to continue to act as hubs for volunteer pro bono lawyers.

We recognise the essential role of not-for-profit advice sector organisations in local communities across the country, and we support them in this vital work.

We also recognise that this is an exceptionally difficult time for these not-for-profit advice sector organisations as they are having to adapt their services whilst dealing with significant disruption to their income streams.

That is why we announced £5.4 million that has been allocated to the not for profit providers of specialist legal advice.

£3 million of this will be earmarked specifically for Law Centres. The remaining £2.4m will be allocated to the Access to Justice Foundation Community Justice Fund to distribute among other not-for-profit providers of specialist advice.

This is in addition to the £370m of funding that the National Lottery Communities Fund is administering, which qualifying third sector organisations, including those within the advice sector, will be able to bid for.

Both the £5.4m the Government is allocating to advice providers, and the funding that these organisations will be able to apply for from the National Lottery Communities Fund will go some way to help support these vital organisations. Where appropriate it will also enable them to expand their operations to meet growing demand for legal support across England and Wales.

The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has secured additional funding for the national charities, Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland and is intending to announce details soon. Both conduct vital work to support individuals to manage throughout the covid-19 outbreak, particularly by helping them find appropriate support.

We recognise the valuable role that Law Centres, and the wider not-for-profit advice sector, play in local communities across the country, and we support them in this vital work.

We are aware that Law Centres may experience financial issues due to the Covid-19 outbreak and have been working at pace to consider options to support them and other not-for-profits who provide this important service.

I am therefore pleased to say that the Government is allocating £5.4 million in funding to the not for profit providers of specialist legal advice.

£3 million of this will be earmarked specifically for Law Centres.

This is in addition to the £370m of funding that the National Lottery Communities Fund is administering, which qualifying third sector organisations, including those within the advice sector, will be able to bid for directly.

We recognise the valuable role that Law Centres play in local communities across the country, and we support them in this vital work.

It is right that the Government does what it can to help vulnerable people and the charity sector on which they rely during this challenging time. That is why the Government recently announced that it is providing £360m of funding to charities, as well as an additional £370m fund for smaller organisations at the heart of local communities.

MoJ officials continue to meet regularly with representatives of law centres as well as the wider advice sector, to ensure that they are supported during this time and discuss ways in which we can work together to enhance the breadth of legal support available for everyone in society.

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

We recognise the valuable work that Law Centres do in local communities around the country, and we support them in this through both grant funding and through legal aid contracts.

We are also working collaboratively with the sector to explore co-locating piloting co-located support hubs as part of work to explore new, better ways to help people resolve their issues.

My officials continue to meet regularly with representatives of law centres to discuss ways in which we can work together to enhance the breadth of legal support available to everyone in society.

Vauxhall Law Centre in Liverpool is one of only 42 law centres still in existence. It enables working-class people to defend their fundamental right of access to justice, a right that is currently under attack from Government cuts. What urgent action are the Government taking to guarantee the future of law centres in Liverpool and across the country?

I welcome the new Member to his place on the Opposition Benches. We recognise the valuable work that law centres do in our local communities around the country, and we support them through grant funding and legal aid contracts. In two of the early visits that I made when I went into the Ministry of Justice, I visited the law centre in Southwark and another in south-west London to gain a deeper understanding

of the tremendous work they do. He can rest assured that we support our law centres and the work they do, to ensure that the people who need support can receive it.

The above table shows the number of not-for-profit solicitor offices located in each region as defined by the Legal Aid Agency, proximate to the area of England and Wales covered by each LAA office. Note that the LAA commissions services on a ‘Procurement Area’ basis. Procurement Areas have been developed based on various local factors; not all can be compared on a like-for-like basis.

Individuals are able to access legal advice and services from any provider holding a legal aid contract, this includes from approved legal advice providers located locally or nearby regions.

The Legal Aid Agency keeps availability of legal support under constant review and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns.

We spent £1.6 billion on legal aid last year and in addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone service, we are investing £5m in innovative technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are.

The above figures show both New Matter Starts opened under the Civil Legal Help scheme, and cases which commenced receiving a legal aid certificate under the Civil Representation scheme by Law Centres in each year. Figures for Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme Work are absent for the years 2010-2011, 2011-2012 & 2012-2013, as a breakdown of that work is not available in the format that has been requested.

Not all Local Authorities have a Law Centre within their boundaries for a number of reasons. The LAA commissions services on a ‘Procurement Area’ basis. Procurement Areas align to one or a number of combined local authority areas and have been developed based on various local factors. Not all Procurement Areas can be compared on a like-for-like basis.

Individuals are not limited to accessing legal advice providers in the Procurement Area where they live and may access services from providers located in neighbouring local authorities, or at other contracted legal advice providers located locally.

The table below shows a list of those local authorities in which the LAA has been able to identify an LAA contracted Law Centre office in each financial year since 2010/11.

The figures in the LAA’s data may not give the full picture of coverage. There are a number areas where law centres may have chosen to consolidate offices but continue to deliver larger volumes of work across a whole procurement area.

The Legal Aid Agency keeps availability of legal support under constant review and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns. We spent £1.6 billion on legal aid last year and in addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone service, we are investing £5m in innovative technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are.

We recognise the valuable work that Law Centres do in local communities across the country, and we support them in this through legal aid contracts.

Government funding since 2010 is highlighted in the below table:

As outlined in the Legal Support Action Plan, we are investing up to £5 million to deliver innovative services and test new methods of support to help people resolve their problems quickly and easily, in the way that best works for them. We are also launching several projects and pilots offering support to people with social welfare problems like housing, including an expansion of early legal advice to determine the most effective solutions going forward.

In addition, my officials continue to meet regularly with representatives of law centres to discuss ways in which we can work together to enhance the breadth of legal support available for everyone in society.