Question
In 2011, there were 230 firms and 781 accredited legal representatives undertaking mental health legal aid work. There are now only 148 firms and 383 representatives. The rate of pay for mental health lawyers has, accounting for inflation, gone down by 47% since 2008. Our criminal courts are full of people with mental health disorders, so a functioning mental health system must be part of the mission to tackle the courts backlog. Does the Minister agree that legal aid fees for mental health law work must increase to ensure that patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 have access to competent, publicly funded legal representation?
Answer
I was very pleased to meet the hon. Lady and the heads of the Mental Health Lawyers Association, when we were able to discuss these issues. It is why, as a matter of priority when the Government came in, we invested in increases in fees for legal aid, criminal solicitors, prison lawyers and a forthcoming increase in fees for criminal barristers. But I accept that there is more work to do on the civil side, including in mental health. There are changes we can make through the transformation of the legal aid system and we are making that investment too, so that those providers are working within improved systems and not on the old legacy systems that have so hampered the delivery of access to justice.14% point-scoring
Verdict: RED (20/100)
The question asked whether fees for mental health law work will be increased. The reply acknowledges that more work is needed on the civil side, including mental health, but does not commit to any fee increase for that work. The fee rises it cites apply to criminal solicitors, prison lawyers and criminal barristers, and the references to transformation and systems are not concrete proposals for mental health fees. The person asking would most likely need to submit a follow-up to get a specific answer.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the Minister agree that legal aid fees for mental health law work must increase, so that patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 have access to competent, publicly funded legal representation? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply concedes in statement 4 that there is more work to do on the civil side, including mental health, which partly engages the question's premise. However, it never says mental health fees must increase, and the fee increases it cites (statements 2 and 3) concern criminal solicitors, prison lawyers and criminal barristers rather than mental health law work. The transformation and systems points (statements 5 and 6) are not concrete mechanisms for mental health fees. |