https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/when-fresh-grants-or-applications-for-abwor-are-required/
https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/when-fresh-grants-or-applications-for-abwor-are-required/
This page includes information on when you need to apply for a fresh grant of ABWOR, or if you can continue to provide ABWOR for a hearing under an existing grant.
If ABWOR is approved for a hearing and that hearing is deferred to a subsequent hearing, then the grant of ABWOR will continue to that deferred hearing.
If the hearing grants an:
then your grant of ABWOR will continue to the next hearing to consider this and at any further deferred hearings, until a decision on a full Compulsory Supervision Order is made, varied or terminated.
If the original hearing required our prior approval to provide ABWOR, you do not need to seek prior approval again for attendance at the deferred hearing. The grant of ABWOR will last until a substantive/appealable decision has been made in respect of a full (not interim) Compulsory Supervision Order.
You may however need to submit an increase in authorised expenditure application to us to attend any deferred hearing if you have reached your authorised level of expenditure in place. In such cases, you will not need to:
You need to make it clear in your application for an increase that:
If you are not already providing ABWOR to your client, and it is available to them, you can request an uplift to ABWOR in an increase in authorised expenditure online application.
If another hearing is convened by the Reporter for a different purpose after a substantive decision on a full Compulsory Supervision Order (and not an interim Compulsory Supervision Order or interim variation of a Compulsory Supervision Order) has been made (for example, an annual review hearing is called) then you require to admit your client to a fresh grant of advice and assistance and make a fresh application for ABWOR under that fresh grant of advice and assistance.
Where the applicant is granted ABWOR for the above court hearing then this grant of ABWOR will continue until the subject child is placed on a Compulsory Supervision Order or the hearing is discharged.
If the CPO is granted, then a fresh application for ABWOR is NOT required for any subsequent:
You can submit increases in authorised expenditure requests for each subsequent hearing and until the subject child is placed on a full Compulsory Supervision Order.
You need to explain in each application for an increase in authorised expenditure:
Where the applicant is granted ABWOR for the above court hearing then this grant of ABWOR will continue until the subject child is placed on a Compulsory Supervision Order or the hearing is discharged.
If the CPO is not terminated at this hearing before the sheriff, then a fresh application for ABWOR is NOT required for any subsequent:
You can submit increases in authorised expenditure requests for each subsequent hearing and until the subject child is placed on a full Compulsory Supervision Order.
You need to explain in each application for an increase in authorised expenditure:
Where the applicant is granted ABWOR for a second working day hearing, then this grant of ABWOR will continue until the subject child is placed on a Compulsory Supervision Order or the hearing is discharged.
If the CPO is not terminated at this second working day hearing, then a fresh application for ABWOR is NOT required for the subsequent:
You can submit increases in authorised expenditure requests for each subsequent hearing and until the subject child is placed on a full Compulsory Supervision Order.
You need to explain in each application for an increase in authorised expenditure:
If you are granted ABWOR for the eighth working day hearing or a Statement of Grounds hearing and the hearing grants an interim compulsory supervision order (ICSO) then the hearing will be deferred for no more than twenty-two days.
As no decision on a full CSO has been or can be made until the Statement of Grounds are established and remitted back to a hearing for consideration, any grant of ABWOR made for the eighth working day hearing or Statement of Grounds hearing will remain in place for these deferred ICSO hearings and until a full CSO is put in place for the subject child or the hearing is discharged.
You may need to request increases in authorised expenditure, if you want to continue to represent your client at these deferred hearings and at the remit from court hearing, until such time as a full CSO in put in place.
Any review hearing would require a fresh application for ABWOR. This includes an early review hearing at the request of panel members which is not a deferred hearing.
If one of these orders is issued, continued or varied at a children’s hearing then such a decision is appealable to the sheriff court. However, such an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order will be granted because a decision to make, vary or terminate a final/full Compulsory Supervisor Order cannot be made at that stage. A decision regarding a final/full CSO (not an interim one) would then trigger a fresh grant of advice and assistance and ABWOR application, if appropriate, for any review hearing called thereafter.
ABWOR is available to represent your client at a children’s hearing that is considering a continuation or variation of an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order. You have to seek authority from us if you did not have ABWOR at the previous hearing where the Interim Compulsory Supervision Order was made, continued or varied.
If an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order has been appealed to the sheriff court in terms of s154 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and the sheriff has remitted the matter back to a children’s hearing in term of s156 of the 2011 Act, then a decision on a full CSO has still not been made.
In such a case, if you had ABWOR at the previous hearing:
If you did not have ABWOR at the previous hearing:
No ABWOR is available for an extension hearing of an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order before the sheriff. You cannot therefore seek an increase in authorised expenditure to represent your client in the sheriff court for this purpose. Children’s Legal Aid is available for such a court hearing. If you already have children’s legal aid in place for a S101 Statement of Grounds proof, then this grant of legal aid will cover any attendances at any ICSO extension hearings where this is deemed reasonable. See here where the applicant is a child or here where the applicant is a relevant person or deemed relevant person.
ABWOR is available for representation of an applicant at a pre hearing panel where:
A pre hearing panel (PHP) takes place before a full children’s hearing and accordingly separate grants of advice and assistance and applications for ABWOR are required to be made if you wish to represent your client at both these hearings if they are taking place on separate dates.
The reasons separate applications for ABWOR are required are:
Each application is looked at on its own facts and circumstances. Satisfying the “Effective Participation” Test for the pre-hearing panel does not necessarily mean that the “Effective Participation” test will be met for the children’s hearing itself.
Our prior authority for ABWOR is always needed to attend a pre-hearing panel unless the application is under 18 years of age.
A pre hearing panel cannot take place on the same day as a full children’s hearing, which means that you should have sufficient time to seek ABWOR for both hearings.
If there is no time to fix a pre hearing panel on a separate date and the Reporter therefore arranges for the pre hearing matters to be determined at the beginning of the full hearing then, only one application for ABWOR is required. You should explain this when applying for ABWOR to attend an unspecified children’s hearing and when answering any associated Effective Participation questions in the application where the applicant is 18 years of over.
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
Find out when a templated increase in expenditure is available under ABWOR for 2011 Act cases including what work it covers.
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
Read about when you may provide ABWOR directly to a child in various proceedings under the 2011 and 2019 Acts, including what you must satisfy before doing so.
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
Find out about the availability of ABWOR to relevant persons and deemed relevant persons in various 2011 Act proceedings, and who applies the mean/merits tests.
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 introduces rights of participation (‘participation rights’) in children’s hearings for certain individuals
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
This page provides guidance on the ‘effective participation’ test in ABWOR. It sets out the regulatory factors considered in ‘effective participation’ and how they are assessed. These include the complexity of the case; the nature of the legal issues involved; the ability of the person to consider or challenge documents or information, and to present their views in an effective manner. It also provides information on the availability of ABWOR where the client is not present.
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
View hypothetical examples of when you would make a fresh grant or application for ABWOR or where an increase request is sufficient for the next hearing.