Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any steps she is taking to reduce the average length of time, that Legal Aid practitioners are waiting to receive payment from her Department, for bills submitted for services provided.
Minister of Justice: The table below indicates the payment times in August 2023 which the Law Society and Bar referred to in pre proceedings correspondence to my Department on legal aid payment times October 2023. The table also sets out the current payment timescales. You will note that the timescales have reduced significantly.
| Weeks to Process 95% | ||
| August 2023 | October 2025 | |
| Advice and Assistance | 13 | 2 |
| Criminal Legal Aid | 14 | 4 |
| Civil Representation Higher Courts | 9 | 4 |
| Civil Representation Lower Courts | 18 | 8 |
I have consistently argued that my Department’s budget must recognise the demand-led work of the Department. We are more than £200 million worse off than if my budget had merely kept in line with inflation.
Despite that, in 2025/26 I was able to approve the highest opening budget in the history of legal aid. This has contributed to the transformation in payment times.
ENDS
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