On 17 October 2022 the Ministry of Justice announced reforms to the former Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme by which an extra £10 million per year will be invested in housing legal aid in order to enable people to access legal advice if they should face the risk of eviction or repossession. The change will be introduced in August 2023.

Extra legal aid support for domestic abuse victims will support the use of new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, which the Government committed to introducing in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. A further change will help domestic abuse victims by allowing doctors to submit letters of evidence for legal aid applications following video or telephone consultations.

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For an article in the Law Society Gazette, click here.