23 January 2026
The Ministry of Justice is once again in the dock as access to justice continues to deteriorate. NLJ consultant editor David Greene warns in this week's issue that neither public legal aid nor private litigation funding looks set for a revival in 2026
Parliamentary committees have delivered ‘scathing’ criticism of the MoJ’s stewardship of legal aid, with one MP suggesting it be renamed the ‘Ministry of Justice (for Certain People)’.
While ministers talk up third-party funding, court decisions such as PACCAR and Evans v Barclays have chilled the market, raising hurdles for collective actions. Greene, senior partner at Edwin Coe, notes that the UK now ranks ‘30th out of 31’ comparable nations for affordable civil justice. Digital fixes have failed the ‘digitally excluded’, and successive reforms have merely shifted risk onto lawyers and funders.
The result? A justice system admired abroad but increasingly inaccessible at home.
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