Civil and family – key documentationStandard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015Key documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015Key documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015Key documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015Key documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015Key documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract SpecificationsKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract SpecificationsKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationStandard Contract SpecificationsKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationGuidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationGuidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationGuidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationEligibility guidanceRegulations and guidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationRegulations and guidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationRegulations and guidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationCosts assessment guidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationCosts assessment guidanceKey documentation:civil and familyKey documentationFee exemption and remission
The Standard Contract 2013, 2014 or 2015
1.38Most civil legal aid providers operate under one of three versions of the LAA’s Standard Civil Contract.
1.39The 2013 Standard Contract applies to family, immigration and asylum and housing and debt. The 2014 Standard Contract applies to mental health and community care, and the 2015 Standard Contract applies to actions against the police etc, clinical negligence and public law. Family mediation is still covered by the 2010 Standard Contract (for which see the 2011/12 edition of this book).
1.40There are also three further contracts – two for welfare benefits providers and one for providers of the Civil Legal Advice telephone service, but as there are only a very small number of holders of these contracts, they are not dealt with in any detail in this book.
1.41The contracts contain many detailed provisions concerning the way you work with clients, as well as setting out the formal relationship between your organisation and the LAA. You can download the applicable contract from the legal aid website at
www.gov.uk/topic/legal-aid-for-providers/contracts. You then select the appropriate contract.
1.42Part A of this book sets out where you can find the main provisions in relation to casework; see Part C: ‘Managing legal aid work’ for more information on the contractual relationship with the LAA.
The Standard Contract Specifications
1.43The section of your particular contract that you will need to be familiar with is the Standard Civil Contract Specification. The specifications can be downloaded from the webpage noted above – follow the link to your contract and then to the specification. All the specifications have the same broad structure. They are split into general rules and category-specific rules; where the two conflict, the category-specific rules take precedence.
1See for example Standard Contract 2013 Specification para 1.2. The Specification rules are discussed in detail in chapters 3–11 of this book.
1.44The Specification contains an introduction to the main workings of the various funding schemes. Section 1 contains general provisions; for example, it explains how to apply regulations and guidance, what is in your contract schedule and rules concerning additional matter starts. Section 2 gives information about service standards, where work can or must be done, supervisor standards, and, crucially, key performance indicators (KPIs). Section 3 explains the scope of controlled work and rules applying to it. Section 4 explains how controlled work is paid for. Sections 5 and 6 discuss the scope and main rules applying to licensed work, payment arrangements and the statutory charge (although rates of payment are shown in the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 and the various regulations amending them – see
www.legalaidhandbook.com/laspo-resources for all the regulations).
1.45The remaining sections are category-specific, and each specification has its own sections depending on which contract it is part of. Each category specific section begins with supervisor standards, and then moves on to any additional rules that apply to that category:
•2013 Contract: Section 7 – family; Section 8 – immigration; Section 10 – housing and debt (note – there is no section 9);
•2014 Contract: Section 7 – mental health; Section 8 – community care;
•2015 Contract: Section 7 – clinical negligence; actions against the police etc; public law – all contained in one section which only deals with supervisor standards.
Guidance
1.46The LAA has created a series of training modules which cover many of the changes in legal aid. You do have to be careful with them as they are generally not updated if a scheme is changed; but they are very useful when schemes are new. They can be accessed on its website.
2http://legalaidtraining.justice.gov.uk. The LAA also provided some answers to frequently asked questions and guidance in respect of family, immigration, social welfare law and mental health schemes when the LASPO scheme first came in. They are useful because they deal with a number of queries that arise in day-to-day practice, and may well provide the answer to the particular question you have. Unfortunately they are no longer available on the LAA website, but a copy can be found on our website.
3http://legalaidhandbook.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/legal-aid-reform-faq-v3.pdf.1.47The Lord Chancellor and the Director of Legal Aid Casework have issued a series of guidance documents using their LASPO statutory powers, including:
•Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Civil Legal Aid;
•Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Exceptional Funding (there are two, one for inquest cases and one for other cases); and
•Director’s Guidance on Evidence Requirements for Private Family Law Matters.
There is a series of guides and manuals covering general subjects such as financial eligibility and costs assessment, as well as category specific matters like family mediation and housing court duty schemes.
4www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-and-costs-assessment-for-civil-and-crime-matters/. There is also guidance for crime practitioners such as
Crown Court Fee Guidance and the
Criminal Bills Assessment Manual.
1.48Links to all guidance documents, as well as other guides and manuals, can be found at legalaidhandbook.com/laspo-resources.
Eligibility guidance
Regulations and guidance
1.50The regulations create a set of rules that govern whether an individual’s case can be funded under legal aid. The key regulations are the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013, the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012, the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 and the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013. Many of these regulations have been amended, and so you should always check the amendment regulations as well as the original ones, as the LAA does not issue updated regulations incorporating the amendments and nor does
www.legislation.gov.uk. This is in our view most unfortunate and makes understanding what is already a complex scheme unnecessarily difficult.
1.51In addition, the LAA has issued the Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Civil Legal Aid on the way the regulations should operate. It is a key reference document, whether you are granting legal aid yourself, as controlled work, or under delegated functions (previously known as devolved powers), or whether you are submitting an application for the LAA to decide.
Costs assessment guidance
1.53Many caseworkers focus so hard on achieving the best possible job for their clients that they lose sight of the financial side of the case. This is not sustainable, so it is important to be aware of the rules that govern what you can and cannot claim for.
Fee exemption and remission
1.55The fee exemption and remission scheme is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and is not part of legal aid funding. Court fees are a recoverable disbursement under a full legal aid representation certificate, but not under Legal Help or Controlled Legal Representation. Legally aided clients are not automatically exempt from fees, but may apply for exemption or remission on grounds of means where they are not a recoverable disbursement. For more information, see HMCTS leaflet EX160A ‘Court fees – Do you have to pay them?’. It can be downloaded from
www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-help-with-court-and-tribunal-fees/. There is an eligibility checker at
www.gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees.