Legal aid

Years of underinvestment have brought the justice system to its knees. Victims, defendants and witnesses are suffering the consequences while hardworking solicitors are forced out of the sector. We're fighting for properly funded legal aid and investment in a justice system that is available for all.

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Criminal legal aid: what's changing

In 2024, we secured a long-awaited fee increase for solicitors. This was the first boost to criminal legal aid funding in 25 years.

With further still to go, discover how we’re driving efforts to properly fund this vital public service.

Find out more
Richard Atkinson is a white man with short, dark grey hair. He wears a navy suit, a white shirt and a dark blue polka dot tie.

What we're asking for

As the professional body for solicitors, we amplify the powerful collective voice of more than 200,000 solicitors by advocating at the highest levels of the issues you've told us matter most.

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Legal aid means test review

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Civil legal aid review

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LASPO Act

News and articles

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Westminster update: prime minister talks legal aid

Your weekly update from the Law Society’s public affairs team on all the latest developments and debates in Parliament and across Whitehall. This week: PM on legal aid, Renters' Rights Bill, Conservatives reshuffle shadow team.

28 Jul 2025

“Doing comedy allows me to switch off from my day job as an immigration lawyer”

From court rooms to comedy clubs, immigration solicitor and stand-up comedian Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes shares her story.

23 Jul 2025

Westminster update: legal aid and court capacity debated in Renters' Rights Bill

Your weekly update from the Law Society’s public affairs team on all the latest developments and debates in Parliament and across Whitehall. This week: legal aid and court capacity in Renters' Rights Bill, lords debate ECHR reform, legal ethics.

21 Jul 2025

Westminster update: criminal courts review tackles cases backlog

This week in Parliament and across Whitehall: the criminal courts review, Legal Aid Agency IT investment, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and modern slavery.

14 Jul 2025

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Map showing areas of England and Wales with 6 of fewer housing legal aid providers (March 2023) - most of the map is red or orange to show a shortage or desert

Legal aid deserts

Our updated heatmaps show how funding cuts have left large areas of England and Wales without access to advice.

Explore the maps
Map showing areas of England and Wales with 6 of fewer housing legal aid providers (March 2023) - most of the map is red or orange to show a shortage or desert

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