The UK government has announced changes to legal aid access in England and Wales, updating means test thresholds to account for inflation. These thresholds are the maximum amount of capital or income that a person can have to be eligible for legal assistance at public expense.
Under these changes, the government estimates that over 2 million more people will be eligible for civil legal aid each year. Eligibility, though, is not the same as access. The reality is that fewer and fewer people have access to civil legal aid advice and representation, because provision is collapsing.
