A new legal aid portal to replace the system attacked by hackers earlier this year could be fully up and running by October, it has emerged.
The Ministry of Justice said in July that the new system, called Sign into Legal Aid Services, would go live this month, though it remained unclear what services would be accessible at the outset.
Responding to written parliamentary questions from MPs yesterday, justice minister Sarah Sackman said a small pilot group tested the system throughout August.
Sackman said crime systems such as Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form will be accessible in mid-September. Civil systems such as Civil Apply and the Client and Cost Management System will be accessible later this month. Services relating to functionality previously provided by the Controlled Work Administration system will return next month.
‘The LAA continues to engage with representative bodies to help shape the steps to service restoration in a way which supports legal aid providers most effectively,’ Sackman said.
Practitioners have endured months of disruption after the old portal was taken down in May, almost a month after the cyber-attack was discovered. The Ministry of Justice believes the hackers were able to access and download personal data from legal aid applicants between 2007 and 16 May 2025.
Sackman said a 'stocktake' and 'effort to learn lessons' will commence once her department is assured that services are operating properly and data is being handled safely. On support for people whose data was compromised, Sackman said it was too early to comment on remedial actions for clients and providers.
A ministry spokesperson told the Gazette: 'We understand the challenges this situation presents for legal aid providers - we are working as fast as possible to restore our online systems and have put in place contingencies to allow legal aid work to continue safely with confidence.
'These measures include setting up an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases, resuming payments on criminal legal aid cases, putting in place processes for urgent civil application approvals and confirming that criminal applications made in this time will be backdated.'
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