The Legal Aid Agency has opened a targeted consultation on how inquest training courses should be approved for the new Inquests Category of Law under the 2024 Standard Civil Contract. The move follows the agency's publication of headline intentions on 28 July 2026 and a GOV.UK notice published on 29 July 2026 directing stakeholders to a short survey on draft approval criteria. (gov.uk) For Policy Wire readers, the immediate point is that this is not a broad consultation on inquest funding or the Hillsborough Law as a whole. The narrower question is how the LAA should decide whether a training course is robust enough to count towards supervisor competence once the new category is introduced. (gov.uk)
Under the draft model, any organisation seeking an inquest contract would need a part-time equivalent supervisor for that category, and that supervisor would have to meet a legal competence standard. The LAA's current approach is to allow two routes: experience in a specified number of inquest cases, or attendance at an LAA-approved inquest training course. (gov.uk) That detail matters for providers because the training route could become the practical route into the market for firms and not-for-profit organisations that want to expand into inquest work but do not yet have a supervisor whose case record alone would satisfy the standard. In policy terms, the survey is part of the access test for a new area of civil legal aid contracting. (gov.uk)
The draft criteria published by the LAA point to a fairly prescriptive model. Courses would need to be aimed at legal practitioners, delivered live in person, live online or in hybrid form with scope for interaction, and cover the coronial framework, the inquest lifecycle, public body participation, Article 2 issues, advocacy and professional conduct in the Coroner's Court, work with bereaved families, and Prevention of Future Deaths reports. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The draft also expects at least one practical exercise, recent inquest expertise among trainers, annual updating of materials, evidence of attendance, and a reasonable method for checking engagement. Providers would also need to make reasonable adjustments and supply accessible materials on request. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The timing is tied directly to the Government's Public Office (Accountability) Bill, widely known as the Hillsborough Law. The LAA and Ministry of Justice say the Bill would make non-means tested legal help and legally aided advocacy available for bereaved families at inquests where a public authority is an interested person. (gov.uk) In its May 2026 consultation on inquest legal aid fees, the Ministry of Justice said those legal aid provisions could increase legally aided inquest cases from historic volumes of around 200 to 400 a year to up to approximately 11,400 annually, subject to parliamentary passage and commencement. That projected increase explains why contracting, supervision and training standards are being developed now rather than after Royal Assent. (gov.uk)
The new Inquests Category of Law is intended to sit alongside existing civil legal aid contract routes rather than replace them. The Ministry of Justice has said providers with contracts in current categories will still be able to conduct inquest work where the subject matter fits, while the dedicated inquest category is intended to give the LAA clearer data, category-specific quality standards and a more visible provider base for referral and oversight. (gov.uk) The headline intentions document adds further market detail. It states that the procurement will offer an unlimited number of contracts, with no fixed cap on volume, and that the tender process is expected to open in August 2026 with initial bids required by September, with the precise date still to be confirmed. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
For existing providers, the practical issue is whether the proposed course requirements are proportionate and workable. For course providers, the survey is effectively an early test of the approval regime they may later need to satisfy. For representative bodies, it is a short window to comment on whether the criteria strike the right balance between quality assurance, accessibility and provider capacity. (gov.uk) The draft points to a clear regulatory preference for live, interactive and practice-based training rather than purely recorded learning. That choice is likely to affect cost, delivery models and regional access, particularly if the new category is expected to support a much larger volume of inquest work across England and Wales. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The survey closes on 12 August 2026. The LAA says it will review the responses, publish final criteria and then invite training providers to submit courses for approval. (gov.uk) For practitioners and families following the wider reform programme, the message is straightforward. This is a short and technical consultation, but it sits inside a broader redesign of how publicly funded inquest work will be contracted and delivered. Decisions on training approval now will shape who can supervise, who can tender and how quickly provider capacity can expand if the Hillsborough Law's legal aid provisions come into force later in 2026. (gov.uk)