The LSC placed a stream of news items on their website at the end of last week, in advance of the implementation of LASPO on Monday.
These include:
- A link to guidance on evidence required for legal aid to be available in private family law matters;
- Guidance on applying for emergency legal aid in JR cases (remember that most JR devolved powers are removed from 1st April)
- A reminder that, amongst all the other changes, payment rates for some experts change from 1st April (the new rates only apply to cases started under LASPO, not to ongoing cases started pre-1st April;
- A briefing note on changes to CLA, the telephone advice service (which will also become the mandatory gateway for debt, discrimination and education cases from tomorrow);
- Notification of changes to processing centres and where forms should be sent – see one page guide;
- Reminder that new crime forms and new civil forms become mandatory from 1st April – if old forms are used they will be rejected or nil assessed. CRM4 and CRM5 must now be completed electronically;
- As of 1st April, the LSC ceases to exist and becomes the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). Contact details are changing and you should remove logos from your headed paper etc.
Much of this material, along with links to all the other crucial pieces of guidance, contracts, regulations and forms, can be found on our LASPO Resources page. We understand the LAA are planning to release further materials and guidance at the start of the week, and we will continue to collate all the important material, so do keep checking back.
Legal Aid Handbook 