The Ministry of Justice has unveiled a programme of wide-ranging reform to legal aid and civil litigation costs. This is to support a simpler, better and more affordable system of justice which continues to enable necessary access to justice at proportionate cost. Two consultations, published today, mark the first step in a wider programme of work to radically reform and rebalance the justice system, to make it quicker, cheaper and less combative wherever possible. It aims to encourage more people to have the confidence to resolve disputes out of court, where it is sensible to do so. The consultation on legal aid reform aims to tackle the spread of expensive and often unnecessary litigation into everyday society at the taxpayer’s expense, and bring down the £2 billion plus cost of the legal aid system in England and Wales, focusing it on those who most need help. The civil litigation costs paper contains proposals to tackle the spiralling costs payable by people who have been sued in “no win no fee” cases, alongside other proposals to make civil costs more reasonable and proportionate. Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: “Alongside our ambitious proposals for reforming the legal aid system, we have also set out important plans to reform funding arrangements in the civil justice system, which will support wider Government efforts to help businesses and public bodies fearful of costly litigation. “These are difficult issues which have been grappled with for some time, as all who are familiar with this area of law know. But I believe that today’s consultation marks the way forward. “One of our key proposals is reforming the current “no win no fee” regime. We want to reduce overall costs, ensure claimants have a financial interest in controlling legal costs incurred on their behalf and deter avoidable, unnecessary or unmeritorious cases. “Under the current arrangements claimants generally have no interest in the costs being incurred on their behalf because, win or lose, as they do not have to pay anything towards them. “Today’s proposals are designed to prevent the situation in which, regardless of the merits of their case, defendants are forced to settle for fear of prohibitive costs. “I want to strike the right balance between access to civil justice and ensuring that costs are proportionate, sustainable and affordable.” Further details on both consultations can be found here.