Civil legal aid fees for housing, debt, immigration and asylum work will rise from Monday 22 December 2025. The change is set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1248), made on 27 November and laid before Parliament on 1 December, signed by Justice Minister Sarah Sackman.

For day‑to‑day casework outside London, the base hourly rate moves to at least £65.35; in London it rises to £69.30. Where a straight 10% uplift would be higher, that applies instead. The Ministry of Justice confirmed the approach in its consultation response over the summer, formalised now in the new regulations.

Fixed fees move with those rates. Debt legal help rises from £180 to £256 and housing from £157 to £223, with the “escape” thresholds increasing to £768 and £669 respectively for cases that demand more work than a fixed fee covers. MoJ tables show the previous amounts and the new figures side by side.

In immigration and asylum, several uplifts matter for Northern providers. Representation at a UKVI interview increases from £266 to £360, and National Referral Mechanism advice rises from £150 to £203. Staged fixed fees for asylum and non‑asylum work also climb, reflecting higher preparation time.

The regulations also tidy up procedure by replacing remaining references to the old Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme with the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. HLPAS began on 1 August 2023 and gives early, means‑free advice to people at risk of losing their home, alongside on‑the‑day court duty help.

Why this matters up here is capacity. The Legal Aid Agency has been trying to add providers in Barnsley, Calderdale, Hull, Doncaster, East Riding, Hartlepool, Knowsley, Northumberland, North and North East Lincolnshire, Rochdale, Rotherham, Trafford, Warrington and Halton, West Lancashire and Wigan - a clear signal of gaps across our patch.

Those gaps show up in national data too. The Law Society’s mapping indicates 44% of people have no local housing legal aid provider, while 63% lack a local immigration and asylum provider. That shortage bites in the North where travel times and costs are higher for clients and advisers alike.

“Civil legal aid is a vital public service that protects all people and communities,” the Law Society said when the fee plan was launched. Sector bodies welcomed the rise but warned it still falls short of long‑term sustainability, calling for ongoing review and wider uprates.

For firms and law centres, one practical point: the new remuneration only applies where the client’s application is signed on or after 22 December 2025. Earlier matters stay on the old rates, so finance teams will need clear file notes and careful billing cut‑over.

For renters facing possession and for people needing immigration advice across the North, the intention is simple: keep local doors open. HLPAS continues to offer early, free advice to those at risk of losing their home, and the fee uplift aims to keep providers in the market to deliver it.