Legal Aid Means Test Review

Overview

In February 2019, the government announced a review of the means test for legal aid as part of the Legal Support Action Plan.  

This review has considered the legal aid means tests in the round, including the income and capital thresholds for civil and criminal legal aid eligibility, wider eligibility criteria (such as our approach to benefits recipients), and the income and capital contributions potentially payable towards the costs of legally aided representation. The proposals set out in this consultation aim to ensure access to justice, while targeting legal aid to those who need it most.  

This consultation is open to anyone who wishes to comment, but may be of most interest to civil and criminal legal aid providers and to all those who have been, are or may in future be recipients of legal aid.   

You will find the consultation document, a large print version and a Welsh summary below. We will shortly publish a full Welsh translation and an easy read version. A full HTML version of the consultation is availble on GOV.UK.