Both criminal and civil legal aid cases fell in April to June 2014 compared with the same period in 2011 (Legal aid statistics in England and Wales: Apr to Jun 2014). Pre-charge criminal legal aid cases fell by 22,000 (11 per cent); magistrates’ court cases, by 16,000 (14 per cent).

There were even bigger reductions in family cases, which saw a drop of 27 per cent. The MoJ puts the fall down to changes in scope since April last year, after the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.