PAS recently contributed to the House of Commons Justice Committee as part of its inquiry into Access to Justice, which examines the current state of advice and legal services across civil, criminal and family law.

Contributions from PAS shed light on widespread, severely restricted access to justice in prison. Though the prison population has risen by 93% in 30 years, around 60% of prison law practitioners have left the field. Only about 110 providers now hold legal aid contracts, and fees have been frozen since 2011. Meanwhile, law and policy around parole, sentencing, and release have become increasingly complex. Only a very small number of overstretched practitioners and charities are left to uphold prisoners’ rights amid these pressures.

PAS also highlights that any access to justice in custody depends on staff cooperation – prisoners cannot make calls, send correspondence, or move freely without authorisation, and there are no legal advice officers or meaningful internet access. Telephone calls are costly, correspondence is limited, and libraries are under-resourced. In this environment, a handful of lawyers and charities bear almost total responsibility for ensuring that prisoners can seek legal help. 

PAS maintains that investment in digital infrastructure should be a priority as communication between prisoners and legal advisers still relies largely on post and landlines—slow, expensive, and unreliable. Secure digital systems, videolinks, and partial digitisation of prison libraries would significantly improve fairness and efficiency.

Since the Legal Services Act 2007, reductions in legal aid scope, static fees, and an expanding prison population have worsened access to justice. PAS therefore upholds that the proposed 24% increase in prison law remuneration must be implemented and regularly reviewed to sustain the profession – particularly given forthcoming sentencing reforms. 

To read PAS’ evidence in its entirety, click here.