Tag Archives: LAA

by | January 14, 2019 · 4:14 pm

Updated guidance for civil legal aid applications

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) published updated guidance on who qualifies for civil legal aid on its website last week (11 January 2019).

Resources available on the site include guides to scope, merits and means, as well as links to the relevant regulations. The civil legal aid calculator tool has links to the relevant forms. The LAA is encouraging practitioners to use the online calculator rather undertaking manual calculations.

Other information available via links on the LAA site include further useful statutory instruments, clarification on immigration funding for trafficking cases and leaflets aimed at advice providers.

The LAG Legal Aid Handbook 2018/19 is out now – featuring full coverage of the civil and criminal schemes, fully revised and updated and including the 2018 civil contract. This edition includes brand new chapters on CCMS and community care, specialist chapters on housing, family, mental health, immigration and crime work, and greatly expanded coverage of civil costs. Written by a team of legal aid experts and edited by Vicky Ling, Simon Pugh and Sue James, it’s the one book no legal aid lawyer can afford to be without. Order your copy here now.

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by | April 5, 2017 · 8:41 pm

Latest legal aid statistics published

 

The LAA has published its latest quarterly statistics, for October to December 2016, and they make grim reading.

  • Legal Help cases have fallen 14% compared to the same quarter last year, though civil certificates increased by 5%;
  • Crime has also fallen – with lower work down by 6% and higher by 4%. The effect of suspending the April 2016 fee cut meant that lower spend rose by 1%;
  • Mediation cases fell by 14% compared with the same period last year;
  • Total spend on crime in 2016 was £861million, and in civil £676million, of which £527million was family;
  • The collapse of non-family civil legal aid continues, with mental health down 5%, immigration down 24% and housing down 12% since last year;
  • Exceptional funding applications increased by 43%, and 58% of applications were granted – over half in immigration.

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