Immigration and asylumImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:standard fee casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:fee stagesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:additional feesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:counselImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:disbursementsImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:disbursementsImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:disbursementsImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:escape fee casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:escape fee casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:hourly rates casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:hourly rates casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:hourly rates casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:hourly rates casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:hourly rates casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:Upper Tribunal casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family workImmigration and asylum work, payment for:Upper Tribunal casesImmigration and asylum work, payment forGetting paid for civil and family work
13.74This section describes payment for Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation (CLR) cases. For licensed work in the immigration category, see the general principles above.
Standard fee cases
13.75The scope of the standard fee scheme is not defined in the contract, except by exclusion. Paragraph 8.77 of the Specification simply lists hourly rates cases, all others being standard fees. Therefore, standard fees apply to all cases other than:
(a)work in relation to an asylum application (including ‘NAM’ or ‘Legacy’), which was made prior to 1 October 2007;
(b)a fresh asylum application where the original asylum application was lodged, whether concluded or not, prior to 1 October 2007;
(c)advice in relation to the merits of lodging an application for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (where advice has not been received under a stage 2 standard fee);
(d)Controlled Legal Representation in relation to an application for permission to appeal and, where granted, the subsequent appeal before the Upper Tribunal;
(e)bail applications;
(f)advice and applying for a Certificate for Licensed Work, including complying with the pre-action protocol;
(g)initial advice in relation to an Asylum application prior to claiming asylum eg at the Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) where you then cease to be instructed. This will also apply where the client returns after attendance at the ASU but where it is confirmed that the client will be dispersed and will not continue to instruct you;
(h)Escape fee cases
1These are the cases described under the 2010 contract as exceptional fee cases; exceptional cases under the 2013 contract are those out of scope but funded under LASPO s10. under the Graduated Fee Scheme;
(i)advice in relation to a client who is an unaccompanied asylum seeking child;
(j)cases remitted from the Court of Appeal to the Upper Tribunal or Upper Tribunal to the First-tier Tribunal;
(k)where you hold an exclusive schedule, any matters opened as a result of an on-site surgery at an IRC or for a fast track client.;
(l)advice in relation to terrorism prevention and investigation measure orders (TPIMs);
(m)applying for a certificate in relation to TPIMs;
(n)applying for a certificate for Special Immigration Appeals Commission work.
Exceptional cases are paid at hourly rates rather than through the standard fee scheme.
Immigration and asylum fee stages
2Remuneration Regulations 2013 Sch 1 table 4(a).13.76Fees are split into three main stages: 1, 2a and 2b. Different fees apply at each stage in asylum and non-asylum matters, but the stages are the same for both. The fees include travel and waiting.
13.77There are additional fees on top of the basic fee for extra work at each stage (see below).
13.78Stage 1 covers the Legal Help stage of the case, and ends when CLR is granted or refused, or when the matter ends, whichever is earlier.
13.79Stage 2 covers the CLR stage of the matter. Either – but not both – the 2a or 2b fee will be payable, depending on the point at which the matter ends. The 2a fee will be payable where the case does not proceed to – or, at least, representation is not provided at – a substantive hearing; 2b is payable where the case does proceed to a substantive hearing. Stage 2 will end when CLR is granted or refused to lodge an application to the Upper Tribunal, or when the matter ends, whichever is earlier. Where CLR is granted for an application to the Upper Tribunal, the case will be paid at hourly rates from that point onwards.
13.80See the Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification paras 8.62–8.66 for full definitions of each stage and examples of what work is included.
13.81A claim for stage 1, and either stage 2a or stage 2b, must be submitted within six months of the end of each stage.
3Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.60.Immigration and asylum – additional fees
4Remuneration Regulations 2013 Sch 1 table 4(b),(c).13.82Additional fixed fees are payable on top of the relevant graduated fee in the following circumstances:
•attendance at a Home Office interview where permitted (see chapter 9);
•representation at a Case Management Review Hearing (CMRH) – different fees are payable depending on whether it is an oral or telephone hearing;
•representation at a substantive tribunal hearing;
•representation at a part-heard or relisted hearing.
Immigration and asylum – counsel
13.83Where counsel is instructed for representation at a hearing, the relevant additional fee for representation will be added to the graduated fee paid to the solicitor and it will be for the solicitor to pay counsel.
Immigration and asylum – disbursements
13.84All disbursements are payable on top of the graduated fee, subject to the relevant disbursement limits. Disbursements at the Legal Help stage should not exceed £400.
5Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.68 (a). Where the case is a graduated fee, disbursements for the CLR should not exceed £600;
6Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.68 (b). where the case is payable at hourly rates, costs and disbursements together should not exceed £1,600 (asylum) £1,200 (immigration) or £500 (bail only).
7Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.86.13.85An application may be made to the LAA to extend any or all of these limits for matters opened from 10 November 2010. Save for the costs of waiting time where ‘there is a significant delay on the day of a hearing, which is no fault of yours or your Client, provided you apply for an extension to the Cost Limit as soon as practicable thereafter’,
8Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.88. costs limits cannot be extended retrospectively. You must apply for extension on the relevant extension forms (CW3A/CW3B).
9www.gov.uk/government/publications/cw3-extension-of-upper-cost-limit-in-controlled-work-cases.13.86A claim can be made in respect of unpaid disbursements. This claim can be made if at least six months have elapsed since the start of the matter and, if you have become entitled to make a Controlled Work claim or have previously applied for payment under this paragraph, at least six months have elapsed since that entitlement arose or application was made.
10Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.104.Immigration and asylum – escape fee cases
11Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.72.13.87The calculation for determining whether escape fee payments can be made is relatively complicated. The calculation is made at the end of the case, and covers costs for the whole case – Legal Help plus CLR. Where total profit costs at hourly rates, minus any additional payments made, are more than three times the graduated fee, then an exceptional case payment may be claimed. The amount of the exceptional payment is total profit costs, minus additional payments, minus standard fee already paid.
12Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.74.13.88Claims for exceptional cases should be made at the end of the case – that is, following the completion of both the Legal Help and CLR, where relevant. When making a claim for an exceptional payment, any previous claims under the standard fee scheme should be reconciled against the payment sought.
13Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.75. A claim for escape fee payment must be made at the end of the case once all costs are known and certainly within three months of the case being reported as a completed matter.
14Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 4.17. These claims are subject to an individual costs assessment and submitted on an EC-Claim 1 IMM form.
15www.gov.uk/government/publications/escape-fee-case-claim-forms. See immigration section in Escape fee cases electronic handbook for guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/submit-an-escape-fee-case-claim/.Immigration and asylum – hourly rates cases
13.89All cases excluded from the standard fee scheme (see above) are payable by hourly rates.
13.90In hourly rates cases (except those that become hourly rates cases by escaping from the standard fee scheme) there are costs limitations which may be extended on application to the LAA.
13.91For Legal Help, the limit (excluding VAT and disbursements) is £800 in asylum cases and £500 in non-asylum cases.
16Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.80.13.92For CLR, the limit (excluding VAT, but including disbursements
17Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.86. and counsel) is £1,600 for asylum cases, £1,200 for non-asylum cases and £500 for stand-alone bail applications (where a substantive appeal includes a bail application, bail is included in the £1,600/£1,200).
18Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.87.13.93Legal Help claims must be submitted within six months of submission of a fresh application for asylum (fresh claim cases only), or within six months of the Home Office decision (all other cases), and then within six months of the end of the case. CLR claims should be submitted within six months of the first tribunal decision, and then within six months of the end of the case.
19Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.102.Upper Tribunal cases
13.94Upper Tribunal cases are not subject to costs limits, either in respect of costs or disbursements. Instead ‘reasonable costs’
20Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification para 8.94. will be allowed, though may be assessed. Where the application for review was made by the Home Office, or the client is detained under fast track procedures,
21At the time of writing, the DFT remains suspended. Ministers have indicated an intention to restart it. you may always claim your costs. The rates set out in table 8(a) of Schedule 1 to the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 should be claimed.
13.95In all other cases, no claim for costs may be made if permission to appeal is refused (Specification para 8.93). Therefore, costs in these cases are at risk, and the higher rates set out in table 8(b) of Schedule 1 to the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 may be claimed for all cases opened before 2 December 2013. For cases started on or after that date, the higher rates were removed and the rates in Table 8(c) will apply.
22Table 8(b) revoked by Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 SI No 2877 on 2 December 2013. Disbursements will always be claimable (Specification para 8.96).
i)this is a continuation of the same matter;
ii)Para 8.98 of the 2013 Immigration Specification confirms that the remittal will be paid under Hourly Rates as per para 8.77(j);
iii)subject to the relevant Upper Cost Limit under 8.86;
iv)If the previous First-tier Tribunal was paid under Hourly Rates, then the provider would continue under the previous cost limit (either the initial limit or any extended limit authorised by the LAA).