The Ministry of Justice has published quarterly legal aid statistics for April to June 2026, with the statistician noting that a backlog means civil representation figures should be compared with last year's only with care.
Key facts
- Who: Anyone interested in activity in the legal aid system for England and Wales, covering criminal and civil legal aid, family mediation and legal aid providers
- From: 24 September 2026
- Source: Legal aid statistics quarterly: April to June 2026
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published its quarterly statistics on legal aid in England and Wales. The figures cover the three months from April to June 2026 and are the first release for that period. They also give the latest figures for all earlier periods.
The statistics describe activity under the scheme administered by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). They cover criminal and civil legal aid, family mediation, providers of legal aid and central funds payments. This edition also includes figures on provider contracts and management information on police station accredited representative numbers. The data come from LAA records and are produced by the MOJ's Legal Aid Statistics team.
Civil representation
The statistician notes that the system backlog and a restart date in December 2025 mean the data show an above-average volume of starts, grants and completions. The backlog, and the temporary increase in workload and expenditure, are expected to return nearer to normal within a few quarters. Care should be taken when comparing with the same period in the previous year.
Crown Court
The statistician says the relatively unchanged workload at the Crown Court during the contingency period after the cyber-attack shows that these claims and payments were prioritised. After an initial fall in the first two quarters of 2025, payments are recovering. The shortfall in the most recent quarters shows a scheme that has returned to its initial state, with small falls in both fee schemes only.
Legal help, mediation and crime lower
Completion figures for legal help, mediation and crime lower are again provided and are drawn from the new data collection system. The statistician says issues with data submitted during the months affected by the cyber-attack are minimal, and are usually due to the timing of data entry on the new system rather than when the work was completed. Figures are broadly in line with the previous year across all three schemes, but care should be taken when looking at smaller levels of breakdown.
What this means for people who use legal aid
The statistician's main warning is about comparisons: civil representation figures for this period show above-average volumes, so comparing them with the same period a year earlier needs care. The same caution applies to smaller breakdowns of legal help, mediation and crime lower figures.
Sources
- Ministry of Justice, Legal aid statistics quarterly: April to June 2026