Legal Aid Agency Digital Services 2025-07-08
2025-07-08
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The Legal Aid Agency suffered a criminal cyber-attack, leading to issues with its IT systems and the impact on legal aid providers in Rushcliffe. Local firms such as MJC Law and Nottingham Law Centre have reported difficulties due to the lack of proper contingency measures.
Two of my local firms—MJC Law and Nottingham Law Centre—have contacted me about this issue. MJC Law said: 'This has left legal aid law firms, often small businesses, to decide whether to take on the risk of cases and hope they will be approved and paid retrospectively'. Cash flow could become a genuinely serious issue for such firms, so what steps are being taken to support them? For how long does the Minister envisage firms dealing with this situation? Finally, on GDPR notices, is it sufficient that the LAA has simply provided a notice on its webpage?
I pay tribute to the legal aid providers across the country who have kept going through this difficult time and who do vital work in the sector. As part of the package of contingency business measures, we have delegated more decision making to providers and we have committed to backdating criminal legal aid applications. I must assure the House that we will turn the systems back on only when we can be sure that they are secure and we can guarantee that we are protecting people’s data.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific steps to support law firms and timeline for measures were not fully addressed.
Response accuracy