Domestic abuse victims and children will be among the 6 million people to benefit as the government promises to give 25 million to boost every year to the legal aid system. This comes as part of the government response to the Civil Legal Aid Means Test Review.

The investment means some of the financial barriers for victims to access legal support will be removed. This includes domestic abuse victims on universal credit, who will no longer face a means test to access legal aid when applying for protective orders for themselves or their children. Changes to how financial eligibility is assessed will also aid those sharing homes or assets with abusers.

The impact of legal aid cuts on domestic abuse victims has been well documented. In 2022, The Guardian reported domestic abuse cases funded by legal aid fell from 75% to 47% in 10 years. Research into the impact of capital and contribution thresholds found that one in five callers to the National Centre for Domestic Violence helpline who were eligible for an injunction could not proceed as they could not recover the legal aid contribution costs. In addition, a report by the Ministry of Justice found that the means test potentially worsened economic abuse, with some victims re-mortgaging their homes for the sake of legal representation.

These are among wider changes announced to better support victims after a report revealed serious concerns with how family courts safeguarded domestic abuse victims and their children. These changes to better protect victims include automatic special measures (e.g. evidence giving via video link) and a ban on perpetrators cross-examining their victims.

The announced investment will also increased the threshold before needing to contribute to legal aid by over £3,000 for civil case sand £12,000 for criminal cases. The controversial “innocence tax”, where individuals found not guilty still had to pay towards their legal fees, will be disposed of as well.

Whilst the Bar Council welcomed the overdue changes to legal aid eligibility, particularly for domestic abuse victims, there is worry regarding the slowness of change. Nick Vineall KC, Chair of the Bar Council: ‘The changes announced today should help some of those who are most in need, but there will still be many unable effectively to vindicate or defend their rights.’