https://freemovement.org.uk/new-legal-aid-rates-for-immigration-and-asylum-work-to-take-effect-from-22-december-2025/

1^st December 2025

New legal aid rates for immigration and asylum work to take effect from 22 December 2025

The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 have been laid before parliament today and will come into effect on 22 December 2025. The regulations will amend schedule 1 of The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. Some of the main changes are set out below.[...]

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1251/made

Government's consultation response confirms legal aid fees for Illegal Migration Act work

https://www.ein.org.uk/news/governments-consultation-response-confirms-legal-aid-fees-illegal-migration-act-work-will-rise

3 October 2023

Interpreter services

Consultation summary

79/. Many respondents (31%) supported increasing fees for interpreters. One of the main suggestions was that interpreter fees have not increased with inflation and therefore should be increased to address a lack of ‘suitability qualified interpreters’ created by low remuneration and to widen the available number of interpreters to work at short notice. Interpreter fees are £25 an hour and have not increased since 2011, with one provider stating it was ‘nearly impossible’ to find interpretation services. One respondent noted that ‘a key tenet of receiving quality legal advice is being able to comprehend said advice’ and that lower fees and thus lesser capacity of interpreters have decreased the usefulness of legal advice received by non-English speaking individuals, which is ‘indispensable’ to access to justice.

Wider stakeholder feedback

80/. Several stakeholders in roundtables also commented on the difficulty of securing interpreters, which many linked to low interpreter fees and the nature of requests - for example, last-minute and for a brief period of time. Given these difficulties, organising interpreters was described as a time-consuming task, reducing solicitors’ capacity to do casework. In their joint letter to the MoJ, 66 providers raised similar views, calling for interpretation fees to be recalculated in line with inflation.

Government response

81/. The Government acknowledges the issues raised around interpreter fees and recognises this as an issue requiring further consideration and longer-term solutions. This was not a policy the Government consulted upon within the consultation; however, we thank respondents for raising comments on this matter which will further inform our consideration of this matter.

170/. After careful consideration of the responses, the LAA and MoJ will also further consider a variety of other areas, such as interpreters fees and disbursements, and after further consideration will make changes where required.

Additional measures

41/. Across Questions 1 and 2, respondents stated that additional measures would be required to improve the effectiveness of the 15% increase. The further measures mentioned included: accreditation, interpreter fees and disbursements. Some also stated that additional measures were needed but did not specify further. Those responses have been summarised in Chapter 4.

Wider stakeholder feedback

68/. Stakeholders at the roundtables called for changes to the current payment structures, commenting on slow billing timings which can stretch over multiple years, and related cashflow issues. These comments primarily related to Home Office processes. Some providers suggested that the LAA should also speed up payment of disbursements, for example, for interpreters or medical experts. The open letter from 66 signatories also echoed this point and suggested that the LAA should ensure that PoAs for Controlled Work are made every three months.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legal-aid-fees-in-the-illegal-migration-bill/outcome/legal-aid-fees-in-the-illegal-migration-act-government-response

 

“Interpretation fees should be recalculated in line with inflation”

https://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/news/garden-court-chambers-responds-to-moj-consultation-on-legal-aid-fees-in-illegal-migration-bill

9 August 2023

Garden Court Chambers responds to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on the fees applicable to immigration legal aid work

[…] “g) Interpretation fees should be recalculated in line with inflation. At the current available rates, which have not increased at least since 2011, it is often impossible to find interpretation services that meet the interpreter qualification criteria set by the LAA. This problem is particularly acute for certain languages and is a key aspect of effective access to justice in this field.” […]

 

Criminal Legal Aid Manual: Guidance on Interpreter Costs

Guidance on Interpreter Costs has been published by the Legal Aid Agency in the Criminal Legal Aid Manual as of 29th March 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-legal-aid-manual

24 Annex G: Interpreters Costs 

Pre-court work

If it has been necessary for a solicitor to incur interpreter’s costs to assist with work carried out before the first court hearing and even perhaps before charge, the Justices could order payment from central funds, applying the judgment of Lord Justice Auld in R (on the application of Hale) v North Sefton Justices [2002] EWHC 257 (Admin).

Auld defined ‘proceedings’ very broadly for the purposes of the court agreeing payment from central funds for pre-court work. The question was whether it could reasonably be said that the advice being sought/given was ‘in the proceedings’ even though a charge had not yet been preferred.

Solicitors who want to submit a claim for pre-court work should agree it with a court officer beforehand. This is current practice when claiming on central funds.

Cost of interpreters in court proceedings

Where the police or other investigating agency charge a person with an offence and detain or bail that person for a magistrates' court hearing within two working days of charge (i.e. the following day or over a weekend or Bank Holiday), the police or investigating agency will arrange the interpreter for the court hearing. It is important that so far as possible the interpreter arranged for court is not the one who interpreted at the police station either for the police or the applicant's solicitors at any stage prior to the court appearance. If however it is not possible to find another interpreter (i.e. the language is rare) then the Court and all parties must be notified of the intention to use the same interpreter for the court proceedings and agree to that course of action.

Where the court appearance is more than two working days (not including Saturdays) after the charge or summons, it is the responsibility of the court to arrange for an interpreter if an applicant requires one.

In both instances, the interpreter's costs will be paid for by the court out of central funds.

If an applicant requires an interpreter for Crown Court proceedings, the court is responsible for arranging the attendance and payment of an independent interpreter (Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 s.19(3)(b)). This is then paid out of central funds.

Cost of interpreters in investigation stage

If an interpreter is required when a solicitor is giving advice during the investigation stage of a case, the interpreter’s costs may be included as a disbursement when claiming for payment under the 2010 Standard Crime Contract.