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Legal Aid: Civil news and updates
Some new legal aid regs in Scotland to disregard carer support payment in financial assessments and to make provision for advice and assistance in relation to arrests under the National Security Act 2023
Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No. 4) Regulations 2023
New regs in England and Wales that:
‘... increase by 15% the fees payable for controlled legal aid work for individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act 2023
New from the MoJ:
Call for evidence to obtain more information to further inform the Review of Civil Legal Aid and feed into policy development
The Review of Civil Legal Aid has launched a call for evidence, opening on 10 January 2024 and closing on 21 February 2024.
We are inviting interested parties at the heart of the civil legal aid system to submit evidence that will inform the Review, strengthening its evidence base and feeding into the development of short and long-term policy solutions. We are especially, but not exclusively interested in hearing the views of civil legal aid practitioners, people who have received legal aid, representative bodies and charities. We also invite contributions from academics who have carried out relevant research.
More info: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/review-of-civil-legal-aid-call-for-evidence
The Public Accounts Committee has launched an inquiry into value for money from legal aid, with a call for evidence on issues including the effectiveness of LASPO, access to justice and the sustainability of the legal aid market -
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8153/value-for-money-from-legal-aid/
Advance notice from the Legal Aid Agency of a further tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract -
‘... for organisations who have not bid or have not been successful in the initial tender.’
Procurement exercise will open on 18 March 2024 to bids across all civil categories, and will include an opportunity to tender to deliver the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (in Barnstaple, Blackpool, Crewe, Lancaster, Newton Abbott, Preston, St Helens, Taunton, Torquay, Wigan and Yeovil).
More info: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/civil-news-further-tender-for-the-2024-standard-civil-contract
Gov.uk press release on changes to legal aid means testing coming into effect this year ... includes backdated welfare benefits and child maintenance payments being subject to a disregard ...
More info: Victims given greater access to justice through legal aid reform
Recent letter from the Justice Select Committee to Justice Minister Lord Bellamy:
The Committee wishes to express its dissatisfaction and concern over the Government’s decision to delay the full implementation of Legal Aid Means Test Review reforms to 2026 ....
.... The overall impression created by the repeated delays since this review was first announced in February 2019 is lamentable. We share the concerns expressed by Nick Emmerson, the President of the Law Society, in his statement on 14 March 2024, that ‘the government is displaying a pattern of behaviour of refusing to commit resources to the justice system resulting in unmet legal need’. We would be
grateful if you could explain how the decision to delay implementation of the Means Test Review is in keeping with the Ministry of Justice’s objective to ‘deliver swift access to justice’.
More: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/44155/documents/219797/default/
Recent letter from the Justice Select Committee to Justice Minister Lord Bellamy ....
And a response from Lord Bellamy: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/44651/documents/221874/default
New regs -
This Order complements the changes under SI 2023/150. That SI made provision for civil and criminal legal aid, including advocacy for the majority of proceedings under Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
This Order makes further provision for legal aid for advocacy. Namely, it allows civil legal aid for advocacy for the person protected by the order or for a person against whom a Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) is sought or has been made in DAPO proceedings in the magistrates’ courts and in the Crown Court originating from a police led application for a DAPO.
Some new legal aid regs in Scotland to disregard Carer Allowance Supplement and Care-Experienced Students Bursary when calculating financial eligibility for civil or children’s legal aid or advice and assistance. Certain of these payments are also excluded from ‘clawback’ to the Scottish Legal Aid Fund.
Tender opportunity:
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is inviting Tenders to deliver the publicly funded civil legal aid services from 1 September 2024 under the 2024 Standard Civil Contract for:
- 2024 Standard Civil Contracts (2024 Contract) in the Housing and Debt and Welfare Benefits Categories of Law; and
- 2024 Standard Civil Contract Schedules for Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS)The Tender Deadline is 17:00 on 25 July 2024. Due to the urgent need for contracts to be in place to allow services to commence, the timescale from launch to the deadline for submission of tenders has been set at 14 days ...
There is no limit to the number of 2024 Contracts in the Housing and Debt and Welfare Benefits Categories of Law that may be awarded under this procurement process, however, the LAA will only award a single Schedule to deliver HLPAS in each of the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service Areas. This additional procurement opportunity will be restricted to the following areas only:
- Barnstaple, Torquay & Newton Abbot
- Boston, Lincoln
More info: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/civil-news-further-tender-for-housing-and-hlpas-2024-contract
New regs in Scotland ..
This instrument amends existing legal aid regulations to provide that any -
(i) human trafficking or exploitation victim payment;
(ii) Miscarriage of Justice Compensation Payment;
(iii) compensation payment made in relation to the Grenfell Tower Fire;
(iv) Infected Blood Compensation Scheme payment; and
(v) payment of carer’s allowance- is to be disregarded by the Scottish Legal Aid Board when calculating financial eligibility for civil or children’s legal aid or advice and assistance.
Certain of these payments are also excluded from ‘clawback’ to the Scottish Legal Aid Fund.
Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2024
New regs in E&W ... though only administrative in nature, for example making sure that regulations reference the new 2024 Standard Civil Contract rather than the 2018 Standard Civil Contract which expired on 31 August 2024.
Civil Legal Aid (Standard Civil Contract - Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024
New legal aid regs:
This instrument amends the 2013 Civil Means Regulations ... to extend existing and introduce new mandatory and discretionary disregards. It also creates a general discretionary disregard power for DLAC to disregard payments from the civil means assessment,
and criteria for the Director of Legal Aid Casework to apply to existing discretionary disregards.
A further opportunity to tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract will open on 4 December 2024:
‘... will provide an opportunity for new providers to enter the market and for providers who currently hold a 2024 Standard Civil Contract to apply for additional categories of law and/or offices ...
The procurement will remain open during the term of the 2024 Contract. This means that new entrants can apply for a contract at any time and existing Providers can apply to expand their services. It provides a more flexible approach removing hard deadlines.’
More info: Civil News: Re-opening the Civil Contract procurement process
Govt announces plans to consult on first increase in civil legal aid funding in almost 30 years:
In January 2025, the government will consult on increasing legal aid fees for those working in the housing (housing and debt) and immigration (immigration and asylum) sectors, aiming to increase fees to a rate in the region of £65/£69 per hour (non-London/London), or provide a 10% uplift, whichever is higher. Fixed fees will be uplifted by an amount proportional to the increase in the underlying hourly rate for that work. This will be implemented in 2025-26 with costs scaling up to £20 million by 2027-28.
We will continue to consider the fees paid in other categories of civil legal aid, including as part of the second phase of the Government’s spending review, due in Spring 2025.
More info: Historic increase in legal aid to support most vulnerable
The govt has also today published a series of new reports from the Review of Civil Legal Aid that ‘present evidence on some of the key challenges facing the civil legal aid system’:
Review of Civil Legal Aid: Advocacy Research Report
Review of Civil Legal Aid: Social research on user experiences with civil legal aid
Review of Civil Legal Aid: Data Publications Overview Report
New from the Legal Aid Agency :
Headline intentions for specialist telephone advice services
A headline intentions document is now available ... setting out our approach for a tender opportunity planned for the 2025 Civil Legal Advice Contract to deliver specialist telephone advice as part of the publicly funded Civil Legal Advice Service.
We intend to begin the procurement process for the 2025 Civil Legal Advice Contract in January 2025 for services to commence from 1 September 2025.
The tender opportunity relates to specialist telephone advice services in Education, Discrimination, and Housing and Debt.
More info: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialist-telephone-advice-from-september-2025
A further opportunity to tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract will open on 4 December 2024:
Update: 2024 Standard Civil Contract procurement process now open
The Legal Aid Agency is inviting providers who hold Housing and Debt contracts to express an interest in delivering HLPAS in Barnsley and/or Lancaster.
More info: Opportunity to deliver Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service - Barnsley and Lancaster.