The Legal Aid Agency reported on 24 August 2026 that senior peer reviewers and independent peer review experts had worked with it to update the guidance underpinning the peer review process. After a comprehensive review by category, the Peer Review Quality Guides and criteria sheets used to assess and score files were updated across the 5 categories of law currently reviewed.

The agency said the updated criteria sheets were moved out of the Independent Peer Review Process Document so they now sit alongside each Quality Guide on the Legal Aid Agency Audits page, which it described as making them easier to find and use. Because file selections may span different periods, reviewers may need to complete 2 separate criteria sheets so work is assessed against the standard in place when it was done. The agency acknowledged this adds a small amount of extra work but called it the fairest way to conduct reviews.