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Increase to Civil Legal Aid Fees
London, 2 December 2025 — Duncan Lewis Solicitors welcomes the action taken by the Lord Chancellor today to lay a statutory instrument before Parliament, which will introduce long-overdue increases to civil legal aid fees for housing, immigration and asylum work, an outcome directly resulting from litigation brought by Duncan Lewis against the Lord Chancellor.
The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will come into force on 22 December 2025.
The SI introduces substantial increases to Controlled Work fees, including:
- 42% uplift for housing (housing and debt) work
- 31% uplift for immigration and asylum work
- New minimum hourly rates of £65.35 (non-London) and £69.30 (London)
- Fixed fees uplifted proportionally or by at least 10% where applicable
These changes represent the first meaningful increase to civil legal aid rates for over a decade and form a central part of the £20m annual investment announced following the Government's consultation Civil Legal Aid: Towards a Sustainable Future.
Statement from Jeremy Bloom, Consultant Public Law Solicitor at Duncan Lewis Solicitors
"This is a significant and hard-won development for the legal aid sector. For years, providers have operated under unsustainable financial pressure while continuing to support some of the most vulnerable individuals in society. We issued legal proceedings because the sector had reached breaking point; today's announcement is a clear recognition that the Government had to act to try to fix a broken system. While further work remains to ensure long-term sustainability, today marks an important step forward for providers and clients alike."
"We are concerned that the Lord Chancellor has taken the decision for the increase not to apply to matters opened before 22 December 2025, particularly in light of the long delay in laying this statutory instrument since the decision to do so was taken on 2 July 2025. This will have the effect of slowing down any increase in capacity within the sector, as it appears that providers will continue to be paid the same unsustainable rates for all ongoing work."
Background to the Challenge
Duncan Lewis issued judicial review proceedings earlier this year challenging the Government's failure to implement the fee uplifts it had publicly committed to following its civil legal aid consultation.
Despite assurances, the Ministry of Justice delayed implementation while the sector continued to absorb the financial impact of stagnated fees and the added strain of the Legal Aid Agency cyber-attack.
Today's announcement confirms:
- The SI is being laid immediately.
- Controlled Work uplifts will be implemented this year.
- Licensed Work uplifts will follow once the Legal Aid Agency's systems recover fully from the cyber incident.
Next Steps
Duncan Lewis continues to monitor the Government's implementation of Licensed Work uplifts to ensure that the full package of reforms is delivered without further delay.
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