5.117The LAA made its electronic Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) mandatory for all civil and family applications for certificates from April 2016, a date which was put back several times. There have been considerable difficulties with the system, including criticisms of its functionality. There have also been several extended periods when it has not been available at all. The representative bodies continue to press the LAA for improvements to the system. See chapter 1 for more information about how CCMS works.

5.118CCMS has been created in such a way that the questions asked are dependent on answers to other questions and so the electronic screens do not mirror the paper forms which they replace.

5.119If you are unable to access CCMS due to a technical issue and you need an urgent decision (needed within 48 hours) on an application or amendment you can submit a paper application to contact civil@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk attaching the CCMS contingency incident cover sheet with details of the two occasions when you tried to use CCMS. You will be expected to provide screenshots. The LAA will expect you to speak to a member of their Online Support Team before doing so and obtain a contingency reference number – without which the LAA will not consider the application outside CCMS. Contingency cover sheets can be obtained from the Online Support Team if they agree that you can use the process.1See the contingency process guide at http://ccmstraining.justice.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/8025/CCMS-Contingency-Process_v1_0.pdf/. This process is not available where you have a delegated function allowing you to grant the application or amendment yourself.

5.120The LAA has said that any additional time spent dealing with CCMS that would not have been incurred using paper forms should not be claimed on the client file. Rather, an application for an ex gratia payment should be made. See https://legalaidhandbook.com/2016/03/10/claiming-costs-for-ccmsfail.

5.121When applying through CCMS, evidence of the client’s means covering the last three months will also be required. See chapter 3 for details of financial eligibility. You will need to complete a statement of case, and this should be completed in as much detail as possible, as this is the part of the application that demonstrates that the criteria for granting a certificate are met. Don’t forget that your client’s statement is not the same as a statement of case! You have to explain to someone at the LAA, who has not met your client, why what the client says amounts to a cause of action and why it should be funded.

5.122If you are applying for exceptional case funding (see chapter 4 and merits tests above), you can apply through CCMS. There is a CCMS quick guide to making ECF applications, which will help you to follow the correct procedure. See chapter 4 for more information on ECF.

5.123Low levels of rejects and refusals are KPIs under the Standard Contract 2013, see chapter 18 and para 5.78. One advantage of the introduction of CCMS is that it should make technical rejects for improper form filling impossible.

5.124See appendix B for an application checklist.