Who can claim Legal Aid?
If you are in receipt of
the following benefits you should automatically be able to receive Legal Aid:
- Income Support
- INCOME BASED Job Seekers Allowance
- Guarantee State Pension
If you are on a low income then you would have to be assessed as we have
to take your gross income (the income you receive before your tax is removed) then take away deductions such as housing costs,
tax & national insurance and employment expenses. If you would like to be assessed for Legal Aid in a Family or
Criminal matter then please arrange an appointment by telephoning freephone 0800 1071 207.
You can also go on the Community Legal Advice website which is an informatin
site set up by the Legal Services Commission and calculate your eligibility for Legal Aid which is http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/en/legalaid/
What is the Statutory Charge?
This is where the Legal
Services Commission decide that you should pay back some or all of your legal costs if you recover or keep property or
assets as a result of legal proceedings. The Statutory Charge is worked out after the case is finished and the Solicitors
costs are calculated. This charge can be waived in exceptional circumstances but this is rare.
What is the Solicitors Charge?
If
you are in receipt of Family Help for your case then we are paid a standard fee by the Legal Services Commission.
The Legal Services Commission is the body that regulates Legal Aid and used to be known as the Legal Aid Board.
The
fees that we are paid depend on the level of work we do. If the amount of work carried out goes over the standard fee
and is 3 times the amount that we would get paid under the Family Help Scheme then you may have to pay a "Solicitors
Charge" to the Legal Services Commission.
What types of Aid are there?
If you are eligible for Legal Aid then we will usually
carry out work initially under the Family Help Scheme. This scheme permits us to carry out the initial work needed in
your case such as seeing you at interview, telephone calls and letters to the other party. This scheme does not cover
our costs for attending Court and if that were required we would have to apply for a full Public Funding Certificate.
- Public Funding Certificate
If matters are not resolved and Court proceedings need
to be issued or the matter becomes complex, we may have to apply for a Public Funding Certificate. This gives us a greater
amount of funding to carry out further work such as representation at Court and dealing with the Court documentation.
In cases of emergency such as applying for an urgent
injunction then we may have to apply for emergency funding to cover work we do.
What do I need to provide to you so that you
can claim Legal Aid?
You need to provide us with a recent (within the last 2 weeks of signing the form)
letter from the agency that pays your benefits outlining the amount of benefits you receive; how often you receive
it and what type of benefit it is. We can obtain this for you from the Benefits Agency but this does take a long time
and may delay your case as there is a limit to the amount of work we can carry out without proof of benefits. Therefore
if you do not have a recent letter we would suggest that you obtain one from the benefits agency that pays your benefits.
You also need to obtain details of any Child Tax Credit you receive.
We need 5 weeks of wage slips covering the
date you sign the Legal Aid form. In other words the four weeks before and the next wage
slip when you receive it. We also need a bank statement showing any Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits or Child
Benefit you may receive.
If you require any further information please contact us.
To find out more about Legal Aid you can go to the Community
Legal Advice website at http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk
