Regulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal workCriminal proceedings:definitionRegulation of criminal workCriminal proceedings:definitionRegulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal work:regulationsRegulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal work:contractRegulation of criminal workRegulation of criminal work:contractRegulation of criminal work
2.53The scope of criminal work is defined by LASPO as advice to individuals arrested and held in custody (section 13), involved in investigations which may lead to criminal proceedings, before a court or tribunal in criminal proceedings, or who have been the subject of criminal proceedings (section 15).
2.54LASPO s14 defines criminal proceedings as:
•proceedings before a court for an individual accused of an offence;
•proceedings before a court for dealing with an individual convicted of an offence, including proceedings in respect of a sentence or order;
•proceedings or dealing with an individual under the Extradition Act 2003;
•bind-overs;
•appeals under Criminal Appeal Act 1968 s44A (appeal in case of death of appellant);
•references under Criminal Justice Act 1972 s36;
•contempt;
•such other proceedings as may be prescribed.
2.55Under regulation 9 of the Criminal Legal Aid (General) Regulations 2013,
1As amended by the Criminal Legal Aid (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 and the Civil and Criminal Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulations 2015. the following have been prescribed as criminal:
(a)civil proceedings in a magistrates’ court arising from a failure to pay a sum due or to obey an order of that court where such failure carries the risk of imprisonment;
(b)proceedings under sections 14B, 14D, 14G, 14H, 21B and 21D of the Football Spectators Act 1989 in relation to banning orders and references to a court;
(c)proceedings under section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in relation to restraining orders on acquittal;
(d), (e) [Revoked.]
(f)proceedings in relation to parenting orders made under section 8(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 where an order under section 22 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 or a sexual harm prevention order under section 103A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is made;
(g)proceedings under section 8(1)(c) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in relation to parenting orders made on the conviction of a child;
(h)proceedings under section 9(5) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to discharge or vary a parenting order made as set out in sub-paragraph (f) or (g);
(i)proceedings under section 10 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in relation to an appeal against a parenting order made as set out in sub-paragraph (f) or (g);
(j)proceedings under Part 1A of Schedule 1 to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 in relation to parenting orders for failure to comply with orders under section 20 of that Act;
(ja)proceedings, in a youth court, in relation to a breach or potential breach of a provision in an injunction under Part 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 where the person subject to the injunction is under 14.
(k)proceedings under sections 80, 82, 83 and 84 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 in relation to closure orders made under section 80(5)(a) of that Act where a person has engaged in, or is likely to engage in behaviour that constitutes a criminal offence on the premises;
(ka)proceedings under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in relation to female genital mutilation protection orders made other than on conviction and related appeals;
(kb)proceedings under paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in relation to female genital mutilation protection orders made under paragraph 3 of that Schedule;
(l)proceedings under sections 20, 22, 26 and 28 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 in relation to parenting orders–
(i)in cases of exclusion from school; or
(ii)in respect of criminal conduct and anti-social behaviour;
(m)proceedings under sections 97, 100 and 101 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in relation to notification orders and interim notification orders;
(n)proceedings under sections 103A, 103E, 103F and 103H of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in relation to sexual harm prevention order;
(o)[Revoked.]
(p)proceedings under sections 122A, 122D, 122E and 122G of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in relation to sexual risk orders;
(q)[Revoked.]
(r)proceedings under section 13 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 on appeal against a decision of the Upper Tribunal in proceedings in respect of–
(i)a decision of the Financial Conduct Authority;
(ia)a decision of the Prudential Regulation Authority;
(ii)a decision of the Bank of England; or
(iii)a decision of a person in relation to the assessment of any compensation or consideration under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008 or the Banking Act 2009;
(s)proceedings before the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal in relation to serious crime prevention orders under sections 19, 20, 21 and 24 of the Serious Crime Act 2007;
(t)proceedings under sections 100, 101, 103, 104 and 106 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in relation to violent offender orders and interim violent offender orders;
(u)proceedings under sections 26, 27 and 29 of the Crime and Securrity Act 2010 in relation to–
(i)domestic violence protection notices; or
(ii)domestic violence protection orders;
(ua)proceedings under sections 14(1)(b) and (c), 15 and 20 to 22 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in relation to slavery and trafficking prevention orders;
(ub)proceedings under sections 23 and 27 to 29 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in relation to slavery and trafficking risk orders, and
(v)any other proceedings that involve the determination of a criminal charge for the purposes of Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Sub-paragraph (v) includes contempt other than in the face of the court in the High Court (
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council v Bunning2[2013] EWHC 3390 (QB).) and county court (
Brown v London Borough of Haringey3[2015] EWCA Civ 483.).
2.56LASPO s19 says that determinations about grants of legal aid in criminal proceedings are made by the court. Section 18 says that all other determinations are made by the Director, though the contract delegates some of these decisions to you.
2.57LASPO s17 says that, in determining whether an individual qualifies for legal aid for criminal proceedings, account must be taken of their financial resources and of the interests of justice test. Section 27 gives a right for clients to select a representative of their choice, but that right may be limited and qualified by regulation. This empowers the LAA to, for example, restrict criminal legal aid to those who hold contracts, or provide that certain offences may only receive telephone advice at the police station.
The regulations
2.58Regulations set out the detail of the scheme. Key ones are:
•Criminal Legal Aid (General) Regulations 2013;
•Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.
The contract
2.59From April 2017, crime providers operate under the Standard Crime Contract 2017. It is in three main parts:
•The standard terms govern the management of the firm and its relationship with the LAA, and is dealt with in chapter 18.
•The schedule sets out the monthly payment the LAA will make and the types of work the organisation can carry out (also see chapter 18).
•The Specification sets out the rules on conduct of and payment for individual cases, and is dealt with in chapters 12, 14 and 17.
2.60Other documents which are referred to in the contract, and which you should follow or take account of (though not technically part of the contract) include:
•Equality and Diversity Guidance and Policy;
•Category Definitions;
•Guidance on Category Definitions;
•Monthly Payment Protocol (see appendix J);
•Data Security Requirements and Data Security Guidance.
The majority of these documents are available on the LAA website; but you may need to search for them using your normal search engine and using the exact title of the document.