LAA Security Breach Update 17.10.25

Update from LAA Friday 17^th October 2025

LAA Sign in to Legal Aid Services – Chambers Clerks User Account Registration

We wrote to Legal Aid providers on the 22 July regarding the new Sign in to Legal Aid Services platform, which will replace Portal. This new secure platform allows users of Legal Aid Services to login, and to access Legal Aid digital services such as CCMS once they become available on the platform.

Whilst the security requirements of the new SILAS system does require each user to have their own unique email address with Multi Factor Authentication to access the same, the new platform has been developed with functionality to allow Clerks to undertake work for all barrister Members of their Chambers.

When the system is made live, the links between Chambers and Barristers which existed within the LAA systems in May 2025 when the system outage occurred will be restored. This will mean that Chambers Clerks will be able to access the same list of Members accounts as it was in May 2025 to undertake work including any recently retired Barristers, etc. We have taken the decision to set the system live using the original links following feedback which confirms this will continue to allow access to the accounts expected including recently retired Barristers where work to claim residual matters is yet to be concluded. Once the system is live, if any Chambers have new Barristers or Barristers have moved between Chambers, then requests for accounts to be moved can be made in the usual way by contacting the Provider Records Team.

As the system will allow Clerks to access accounts in the same way that they did prior to the outage, we will set up Clerks with User Accounts and we will only set up Chambers Barristers with User Accounts where it is specifically requested. Again, following feedback during the pilot process, it was suggested that providing that Clerks can access as previously, many Barristers may not wish to activate accounts using Multi Factor Authentication, etc to access CCMS individually.

Sole Practitioner Barristers will be set up with a User Account in order that they are able to access CCMS.

From 17^th October 2025, we will begin to collect the information needed to onboard any Chambers Clerks and support staff who require access to CCMS in order to undertake work for the Chambers Members when the system becomes available. This will require action from a representative of your Chambers or from members of the Independent Bar who have their own Clerks, details of which are provided below.

This work is taking place now to ensure that users accounts are ready when Civil Legal Aid Services CCMS become available, though it is important to note that whilst we are requesting this information so we can create your accounts now, users will only receive an email request to activate those accounts when the system is available.

To safeguard your information and that of legal aid clients, the onboarding verification process will require user information including the name of the user, email address, the detail of the Chambers they work for together with location and role where relevant. There will also be a declaration required to confirm that the data is accurate and that the identity of users has been verified. This must be signed by the Head of Chambers, Chambers Director or another agreed signatory authorised to bind the organisation.

If you are a Chambers or member of the Independent Bar and provided information to us about your Barrister members, we will be writing to you over the coming few days to provide you with the forms to complete. If you have not received a request by 21^st October 2025, the required forms can be requested by emailing LAAUserRegistration@justice.gov.uk

Copies of the Organogram spreadsheet and declaration will be sent to you but can also be found in these links

Declaration – Chambers (1).docx

Chambers Clerks Support Staff Organogram.xlsx

The important takeaway from this message from the LAA is that barristers will not be sent emails requiring them to activate SiLAS accounts in order for bills to be submitted on their behalf, or for anything at all. The billing process through CCMS will work in the same way as before.

If barristers do wish to have individual accounts set up to enable them to access CCMS, then they can request it from the LAA but it will have no impact on their clerk’s ability to bill on their behalf.

There is still no set date for the restoration of CCMS but we believe the LAA are aiming for mid November.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries and I will do my best to assist.

Sarah Reynolds

Senior Practice Manager

Doughty Street Chambers

IBC – LAA Update 11/9/2025

Some will have received an update from the LAA yesterday regarding the upcoming restoration of the CCMS portal. I have included the information that is more relevant to solicitors so that you can see how they will be affected and would suggest reaching out to key solicitor clients to see how you can support each other with bill submission once CCMS is back online so that delays are minimised.

Please ensure that the spreadsheet containing barristers email addresses and the declaration regarding identification have been sent off to the LAA as they are using that information to create the new accounts for the SiLAS system and the activation emails are being sent to those included on the spreadsheets. Whilst we are now being told that the Criminal billing portal will not be in the SiLAS portal and so accounts won’t need to be set up for those advocates, they may change their minds on this so I would recommend including all barristers in the process at this stage.

As always, if you have any queries then please get in touch and I will do my best to assist

Many thanks

Sarah Reynolds

s.reynolds@doughtystreet.co.uk

Legal Aid Agency – Business continuity arrangements and services restoration

For both crime and civil providers, this email includes updates to FAQs on SILAS, regarding third party declarations and use of authenticator apps; please see those at the end of this email. Otherwise, today’s email focuses on the upcoming restoration of our crime services.

Below are further details of our expected timeline for phased system restoration. This is subject to the testing and acceptance, security and legal criteria being met. Our focus for restoration is putting safety, legality and responsibility at the heart of decision-making, which will ultimately determine the stand up of systems.

In mid-September, Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form will be available for access. Subject to testing and security reviews, we hope to restore access in week commencing 15 September 2025. (Next week)
From mid to late September, Civil Apply and CCMS will be available for access.
Services relating to functionality previously provided by CWA are expected to return from October.

We are continuing to engage with representative bodies to understand your experiences and help us shape the steps to system restoration in a way which supports you most effectively. We are grateful for their input as we have developed the guidance below.

Crime Restoration

When will restoration happen?

We expect to restore access to Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form to providers during the week of 15 September 2025. The specific date of launch is dependent on final testing being successful, including security reviews.

This will involve LAA restoring the platforms you are familiar with, but through our new Sign in to Legal Aid Services (SiLAS) platform – this is the replacement to Portal that you will have used previously.

What will I need to do to access Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form (NSCC)?

Users for Contracted Providers will receive an activation email from the email address laa.account.activation@notifications.service.gov.uk with the title ‘Sign in to legal aid services – activate your account’. Please follow the instructions within the email to complete the activation. You will then be able to sign into SiLAS and should see the options to access Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form. If you haven’t asked your IT companies to whitelist this email address then I would recommend you do that ASAP to prevent the emails being blocked by your servers.

Contracted Providers have identified their Administrators when submitting organograms for us to create SILAS accounts. These Provider Administrators will need to grant each user in their organisation (the users who have been listed on the organogram sent to the LAA) with the correct permissions, in order for them to access the correct systems and permission groups. A user guide will be shared via email and on the Legal Aid Agency training and support website prior to going live to instruct Provider Admins as to how to do this.

What will be different about Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form (NSCC)?

These platforms will look and feel as they did prior to the outage. The processes to submit, update and complete applications will be the same as prior to the outage for both providers and LAA staff.

We know that the security and stability of our systems is important to you. To support security measures over the initial restoration of services, platforms will have temporary restricted operating hours. For crime providers, this will mean you will have access to Crime applications initially between 0700-1900 on weekdays only. This is to ensure that there is appropriate digital support available to monitor platforms as part of our security measures. This is hoped to be a temporary measure, and we will review the hours of operation after the first week of systems being available. We will provide updates ahead of CCMS restoration, on any change to the hours of operation for SiLAS.

Will there be any change for Claim for Crown Court Defence (CCD)?

Please note CCD is already live and currently doesn’t require SILAS to login. In the future this may be integrated with SILAS, but we will consult with representative bodies on when and how this is done.

When will the current contingency measures end and how long do I have to prepare for this transition?

Information on Business Continuity Measures will continue to be hosted on the GOV.uk website here: Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident – GOV.UK

As Business Continuity Measures are stood down, this will be highlighted via email and on the GOV.uk website, with notice given prior to the change. We will continue to provide updates to you via the weekly provider email and any urgent updates will be sent as individual communications.

The following changes to submission processes following the restoration of Crime Apply and/or Submit a Crime Form:

Delegated functions during transition

For the remainder of September, in order to effectively manage the return to normal operations, we ask that providers continue self-granting Representation on Summary only, Either way and Prescribed Proceedings cases in the Magistrates’ Court or the Youth Court, where the defendant is on a passported benefit, unemployed or is a Youth.

Crime Apply

For Crime Apply applications, we will continue to allow submissions via the email contingency route for two weeks following system restoration. Specific dates will be confirmed alongside system launch. This is to help with the transition from manual to digital processes for both providers and LAA staff.

After two weeks we will only accept new submissions via Crime Apply. Please note that applications submitted via email will not be uploaded onto Crime Apply, therefore any Post Submission Evidence applications will still need to be submitted via email.

Please note that any rejected applications that remain outstanding at the end of this two week period will need to be submitted via Crime Apply. Please include all of the information and evidence in your submission and a note with regards to the date the client first instructed you. We will then process this application in line with the below date stamp rules.

Non-Standard Crime Claims

For Non-Standard Crime Claims (CRM 4 – application for prior authority to incur disbursements in criminal cases, CRM 5 – application for extension of upper limit) we will be returning to digital submissions only once Submit a Crime Form is restored. This means that once you have regained access to Submit a Crime Form you should please begin using it as the sole method of submission.

If you currently have outstanding contingency forms to submit please do so before the system goes live.

Please note that the CRM 7 – “non-standard fee contract work assessment process” will revert back to the standard process whereby claims can be made either by the digital system or by sending the claim via the post.

Date Stamping

In order to support the clear understanding of how cases will be date stamped during this period, the following guidance will apply:

1. For any application where the solicitor was instructed prior to the date of restoration of Crime Apply, we will follow the contingency date stamping arrangements – solicitors will need to clearly indicate on the application the date that you were first instructed, we will then back date the representation order to the date provided.

2. For any case where they are instructed on or after the date of restoration of Crime Apply, we will revert to the original date stamping arrangements – Please refer to the Criminal Legal Aid Manual – Section 3.3 Dating the Representation Order for guidance on this.

3. For any applications where the solicitor was instructed during the weekend when the service is not available, the solicitor must submit the application on the next available day (Monday) with the request to backdate the date stamp.

Where can I find guidance on accessing and using Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form (NSCC)?

For guidance on initial access to SiLAS, a user guide will be added to our Legal Aid Agency training and support website prior to go live.

For guidance on how to use Crime Apply and Submit a Crime Form including how to submit and update an application, there is no change. You can continue to find the guidance on our learning platform: Criminal legal aid – Legal Aid Learning

What do I do if I have a technical issue with accessing or using Crime Apply or Submit a Crime Form (NSCC)?

If you encounter a technical issue with logging into SiLAS please refer to the troubleshooting guidance which will be added to our Legal Aid Agency training and support website once we are ready to go live.

If you encounter a technical issue with accessing or using Crime Apply or Submit a Crime Form please contact the Customer Service Team in the first instance. You can do this via the existing online service support portal or the support telephone number Customer services – 0300 200 2020 (Option 1 for support regarding SiLAS).

Who can I contact for questions on submitting applications after the platforms are available again?

For questions relating to the policy and requirements for submitting applications, please refer to the existing guidance which can be found here: Criminal legal aid – Legal Aid Learning

Questions relating to individual submissions should be directed to our customer service team in the first instance. For individual passported, employed or unemployed applicants the following email inboxes relate to the relevant CAT team:

For queries regarding applicants who are self-employed, directors, non-means tested and hardship applications the following email should be used:

• Nationalcrimeteam@justice.gov.uk

FAQ additions

The following questions have been added to the FAQ section on the incident webpage.

Can I use the same Microsoft Authenticator App to authenticate multiple user accounts? [added 10 September]

A third party user that holds numerous unique accounts can use the same Microsoft Authenticator App to authenticate all of their accounts, however the same Microsoft Authenticator App cannot be used to authenticate more than one user within an organisation.

The following FAQ response has been updated.

Can an external firm handle the verification of their users and provide a third party declaration to our firm if they provide a Data Protection Agreement to meet the LAA requirements? [updated 10 September]

Yes, an external ID checker can be used as long as the following is adhered to:

The external ID checker would rely on an addendum to their Data Processing Agreement (DPA) between the solicitor (Data Controller) and themselves as the Data Processor. The addendum would require the external ID checker, in their capacity as data processors, to validate the identity of individuals who will have access to SiLAS and retain appropriate verification records.

The body undertaking the check must view:

A valid, in date, government issued photo ID (such as driving licence, passport, biometric residence permit)
The person being ID’d

The body doing the check should then retain an audit log including:

The unique number of the ID document
The name of the person checked
The date the check was completed
Any declarations as to likeness or completion of check that the Agency are asking for

The record must be retained for at least as long as the user is active on SiLAS, or otherwise in accordance with their normal data retention policy.

The declaration and ID evidence may be requested by the legal aid provider and provided to LAA, usually as part of LAA audit and assurance activity.

If you wish to adopt the above agreement, you will need to speak to your contract manager to obtain an updated declaration to reflect the above requirements.

LAA Update 15/8/2025

You should have received an email from the LAA attaching a spreadsheet and a declaration, both of which need to be completed in order for your barristers to have an account set up on the new LAA Sign into Legal Aid System (SiLAS). At the moment the LAA are only requesting the details of barristers. Clerks and support staff will follow in due course and will need to follow the same process.

The declaration is for an authorised person to sign to verify that they have seen the user’s identification and that a copy is available for audit purposes should the LAA request it. Failure to provide the information upon request could result in users being suspended from the LAA system.

The LAA have confirmed that this process can be done in batches meaning you can submit a spreadsheet and declaration for those you have verified the identification for rather than wait for all to be collected before submitting.

Please note that Clerks will not be able submit claims for barristers if either the clerk or the barrister have not been added to the spreadsheet and have not actioned the email that will be sent by the LAA in the coming weeks, so please ensure you provide the additional information regarding Clerks and support staff when requested to.

If you have claims to submit for barristers who are no longer members of chambers and so don’t have a chambers email address, then you are advised to contact LAAUserRegistration@justice.gov.uk with the specific details of these people (supplier number, name and status) and they will advise you on how to proceed.

All users will be receiving an email from the LAA that will need to be actioned as part of the account set up process. It is recommended that you alert your IT providers that important emails will be coming from this address and ask them to whitelist the address LAAUserRegistration@justice.gov.uk so that it doesn’t get blocked by security checks of go into spam inboxes.

I am told we will get a heads up before the emails are sent out to members and also when the portal is due to be back online so if I do get that advance notice I will update you.

The LAA have added this topic to their FAQs which can be found here

As ever, if you have any questions or I can assist in any way then please do get in touch

Many thanks

Sarah Reynolds

Doughty Street Chambers

Further updates:

LAA have published the following update which can be accessed here

Criminal

The Criminal Graduated fee (LGFS and AGFS) claim assessment has now recommenced, and payments will begin to come through. Please continue to submit bills via CCCD in the normal way. We still can’t receive the remittances via CCMS so they will either come in the post/DX if you receive them that way or you can contact paymentinformation@justice.gov.uk and they will send you the remittances.

Please ensure you attach copies of the representation orders with your claims to minimise processing delays

Civil

The LAA have introduced a billing contingency process for civil, offering providers the option of being paid an amount reflecting their average billing over the period 1/2/25-30/4/25. The detail of this scheme, and process for opting into it, can be found here.

This scheme requires providers to opt-in to the process, so please do review and follow the guidance if you want to receive payments through this mechanism.

A summary of the important points, kindly drafted by Scott Baldwin can be found here.

Representatives of the IBC, Bar Council LEX and MLC are part of a working group with the LAA to assist with the process and answer any technical questions that arise. If you have any queries that you can’t find the answer to within the LAA updates then please contact Sarah Reynolds s.reynolds@doughtystreet.co.uk and she will do her best to assist or raise them through the working group.

LEX have published this update regarding the contingency payment scheme LAA Cyber Incident Update : Opus 2 LEX Support

The Bar Council have a dedicated page, which can be accessed here.