38436 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice

38436 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Justice: Does the Minister agree that "some applicants living in poverty are no longer eligible for legal aid" as stated in the Triennial Review of Legal Aid Discussion Document; if so what steps if any is he taking to ensure that people in poverty have adequate access to justice?

Hon Paul Goldsmith: I am advised that the civil eligibility thresholds for legal aid are based on gross income, while child poverty measures use disposable income. This means that legal aid thresholds are not directly comparable to these poverty measures. However, there is some overlap between the legal aid thresholds and the gross income equivalents of the child poverty measures. The Legal Services Act 2011 includes provisions allowing legal aid to be granted to individuals whose income exceeds the standard thresholds, where special financial circumstances exist, such as the likely cost of proceedings and the individual's ability to fund those proceedings without legal aid.