Published: 4th November 2026 The Government responded during the Fourth Report of Session 2026–27 to the Justice Committee’s Access to Justice: Legal Aid (HC 541) report, published on 17 July 2026. Of the 28 recommendations in the report on eligibility, remuneration, provider capacity, administration and the scope of legal aid, the Government addressed none. The Justice Committee argued that the Government’s response is concerning given that the availability of legal aid raises ‘an unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice.’ The Justice Committee urges the Government to act on its recommendations to address the ‘managed decline’ of legal aid, which is central to access to justice. The Justice Committee cited PLP’s Written Evidence in its July 2026 report, particularly on immigration and asylum legal aid work not being sustained by legal aid fees and provider capacity in the sector being saturated. PLP welcomes the Justice Committee’s findings and its extensive recommendations on improving the availability of civil legal aid. Securing access to justice is central to PLP’s work. For more than 30 years, PLP has used legal casework, policy research, and training to improve access to justice. PLP’s latest research on Misaligned Incentives in the Immigration Legal Aid Scheme shows that insufficient immigration legal aid to meet eligible demand forces providers to make difficult decisions about which clients to take on, resulting in significant unmet legal need. Our previous research has also highlighted the consistent trend of limited provider capacity and concerning barriers in accessing legal aid. PLP joins the Justice Committee’s call to respond to and implement the Access to Justice Report’s recommendations.