Public family law – controlled workPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:scopePublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:scopeControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:scopePublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:scopeControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:merits testPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:merits testControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:financial eligibilityControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:formsControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1:fundingPublic family law case:Legal Help– level 1Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Legal Help– level 1:fundingControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:scopePublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):scopeControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:scopePublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):scopeControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:scopePublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):scopeControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:merits testPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):merits testControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:financial eligibilityPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):financial eligibilityControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:formsPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):formsControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:fundingPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):fundingControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2:exceptional casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):exceptional casesControlled work:family casesPublic family law case:Family Help (Lower) level 2Public family law case:controlled workPublic family law casePrivate family law case:Family Help (Lower):closing controlled work mattersControlled work:family cases
Legal Help – level 1
Scope
7.13This covers initial (ie pre-proceedings) advice and assistance in relation to any kind of public law family case, including the consequential letters to the client and any letters to a third party.
7.14However, it is not designed to cover attending child protection conferences as a matter of course. The LAA believes that legal advice is only required in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
1Family Fee Scheme Guidance (excluding advocacy), February 2012 para 3.2. If you attend a child protection conference, you will need to ensure that this is fully justified on your attendance note.
Merits test
7.15The ‘sufficient benefit test’ applies to Legal Help: ‘there is likely to be sufficient benefit to the individual, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the circumstances of the individual, to justify the cost of provision of legal help’.
2Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013 reg 32(b). The question is whether a reasonable private paying client of moderate means would pay for the work.
3Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013 reg 7. It is hard to think of circumstances where it would not be met in such cases.
Financial eligibility
7.16Legal Help is means tested, even in relation to care cases. See Family Help Lower, below, where the local authority has given notice of its intention to issue proceedings, as this is not means tested and has its own form.
7.17See chapter 3 for more information on the following:
•passporting benefits;
•assessment of capital;
•assessment of income;
•reassessment of means.
7.18See chapter 5 for more information on the following:
•evidence of means;
•when you can start work without evidence of means;
•reassessing the client’s eligibility if their means change significantly.
Forms
7.19The form is the CW1 Legal Help, Help at Court and Family Help (Lower) form (unless the local authority has given notice of its intention to issue proceedings in which case CW1PL must be used, see below).
7.20The assessment of means and client’s details sections must be fully completed, and signed by the client, normally in the presence of someone from your organisation, before you start doing any legal work.
4Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 3.10.How many Legal Help forms?
7.21You can have more than one Legal Help matter open at the same time, but only if they relate to entirely separate family disputes where any proceedings would be issued and heard separately.
5Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 3.31. The LAA gives the example where there is a public law Legal Help matter in relation to concerns raised by the local authority and also a private law matter in relation to a divorce.
6Costs Assessment Guidance 2013 Appendix 1 ‘Family Fee Scheme Guidance (excluding advocacy)’ para 2.4.Funding
7.22Legal Help – level 1 is paid as a standard fee.
7Current fees and hourly rates are found in the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. Cases that exceed three times the fixed fee when calculated at hourly rates can be claimed in full (see chapter 13 for more information about claiming escape cases).
Family Help (Lower) – level 2
Scope
7.23This level of funding covers advice and other work for parents or those with parental responsibility. It is intended that the focus of work at this level is on negotiation with the local authority to resolve disputes under the President’s Public Law Outline. Therefore, it covers cases where the local authority has issued a notice of its intention to issue proceedings; but no proceedings have yet been issued.
7.24The letter before proceedings may suggest that a meeting is held between the client and the local authority to discuss the concerns raised in the letter and level 2 will cover attending this meeting (sometimes called ‘a family meeting’) with the client.
Extract from the Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013
7.25The Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 7.38 states:
Payment for Family Help (Lower)
7.38 A determination that a Client qualifies for Family Help (Lower) may only be made where all criteria at Regulation 35 of the Merits Regulations are satisfied. In addition, in Public Law Work remuneration for Family Help (Lower) may only be claimed where the following conditions are satisfied:
(a)the Local Authority has given written notice of potential s31 Care Proceedings in accordance with the DCSF/Welsh Assembly government guidance issued under the Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations, Volume 1, but no proceedings have yet been issued (application for an Emergency Protection Order does not count as issue of proceedings for this purpose);
(b)your Client is a Parent (as defined above);
(c)your Client requires advice and assistance with a view to avoiding the proceedings, or narrowing and resolving any issues with the Local Authority.
Merits test
7.26Family Help (Lower) is not merits tested in public family law, as long as the requirements of para 7.38 (reproduced above) are met.
Financial eligibility
7.27Family Help (Lower) is not means tested in public family law.
Forms
7.28There is a separate form for level 2 in public family law – the CW1PL. It is designed to be used in relation to advice after the local authority has issued its notice of intention to issue proceedings (advice prior to this is covered under the CW1 Legal Help form). Key points are:
•it is not means tested;
•it has a box that allows you to record that the criteria for advice at level 2 were met;
•the local authority’s notice of intention to issue proceedings must be attached to it.
In these cases, you tick the box at the top of page 2 of the Family Help (Lower) Public Law form, and attach a copy of the notice to show that the criteria are met.
Funding
7.29Family Help (Lower) level 2 is paid as a standard fee. Whether you can claim it depends on the local authority issuing written notice of their intention to issue proceedings. This can be in an email, as long as the wording is unambiguous.
Exceptional cases
7.30A case escapes the fixed fee in public law matters where the costs of all levels of advice provided at controlled work, calculated at hourly rates,
8Set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. exceed three times the relevant fees. Therefore, where level 1 and level 2 advice has been provided, costs calculated at an hourly rate must exceed three times the level 1 and level 2 fees combined. If advice has only been provided at either level 1 or level 2, the exceptional limit will be three times the fees for that level of service.
Closing controlled work matters
7.31For information about when you can or should close a case, see chapter 5.