Impact on client if delay submitting accounts for Regulation 18 special urgency work

This update is to highlight the importance of submitting special urgency accounts in a timely manner following your client’s civil application being abandoned, rejected, or refused.

We continue to receive a high volume of these accounts more than a year after the final decision. In some cases, it can be as long as several years later.

Impact on client

Delays in submitting these accounts have a negative impact on your client.

We are unable to collect any contributions due to be paid, until these accounts have been paid by us.

Contributions are calculated on an applicant’s financial circumstances as at the date of application, in accordance with our regulations.

This means that applicants may not be aware that they are due to make payment until long after the decision was made on their case.

As a result, the amount they are due to pay is often not an accurate reflection of their current financial circumstances. This causes issues for applicants and our collection process.

Please see our legal aid guidance covering this issue.

Benefits of timely accounts

Submitting these accounts earlier will mean:

• applicants will know quicker what, if anything, they are due to pay
• a reduction in issues surrounding the collection of older debts due to us
• an improvement in your firm’s cashflow.

Please note, this update does not affect special urgency work for legal aid applications granted. The process for these cases remains the same.

More information

Please contact Kim Blance, Senior specialist, Civil Finance – Assessment.

Email: blanceki@slab.org.uk