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For solicitors
Legal aid guidance
Children’s guidance
Children's Advice and Assistance
Availability of Advice and Assistance
What is advice and assistance?
Who may provide advice and assistance?
Who can receive advice and assistance?
Does your client have any other rights and facilities?
What does advice and assistance cover?
Questions to ask your client when assessing their eligibility
Summary of your responsibilities in providing advice and assistance
Advice and Assistance Application Procedures
Applying for advice and assistance: choosing the correct category code, and advice and assistance applications on behalf of – or directly by – a child
Assessment of an applicant’s financial eligibility
Advice and Assistance Declaration form
Time limit for intimation of application to us
Multiple grants of advice and assistance
Situations where fresh grants of advice and assistance are required for the same client
The limit of authorised expenditure
Change of nominated solicitor
Second solicitor giving advice and assistance on the same matter
Procedure for withdrawing from giving advice and assistance
Private charging after a grant of advice and assistance
Can advice and assistance be given at the same time as children’s legal aid?
Could someone receiving advice and assistance end up paying money recovered or preserved back to the Legal Aid Fund?
Verification of financial eligibility for children’s advice and assistance and ABWOR
The purpose of verification of financial eligibility
Capital eligibility: must be checked even if your client is receiving a passported benefit
Eligibility on Income
Cases where no documentary evidence of eligibility is immediately available
Verification in prisoners’ cases
What period should documentary evidence cover?
Increases in authorised expenditure
When increases in children’s cases are required: different types of hearings
Appeals against decisions of children’s hearing
Appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and/or Court of Session
Increases for employment of counsel
Independent Reports and Assessments for children’s hearings
Independent experts attending and participating at children’s hearings
Increase requests by Curators ad litem
The availability of increases for attending Social Work case conferences, Child in Care Reviews, adoption matching panels and other such meetings
The availability of increases for pre-Hearing visits
Assistance by Way of Representation for children’s proceedings
General scope of ABWOR in proceedings under the 2011 Act
Templated increases in authorised expenditure for certain hearing types where ABWOR has been granted
Availability of ABWOR to a child
Availability of ABWOR to relevant persons and deemed relevant persons in 2011 Act proceedings
Availability of ABWOR to a “126 individual”
Availability of ABWOR to a “non-deemed relevant person”
The effective participation test
When fresh grants or applications for ABWOR are required
When fresh grants of advice and assistance (not ABWOR) are required
Examples of when you should make a fresh grant or application for ABWOR or where an increase request is sufficient for the next hearing
Children's Legal Aid
Legal Aid for Children’s Proceedings
Applications for children’s legal aid for an application to the sheriff for a review of a finding under section 85 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and onward appeals to the SAC and COS
General scope of children’s legal aid
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011
Availability of children’s legal aid
Online Declaration/the applicant’s Declaration
Other proceedings for which children’s legal aid is not available
Exclusion Orders – S76 to 80 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
Distinct proceedings for legal aid purposes
Sheriff Court Applications for children’s legal aid
General – applications to us
Cases concerning multiple children: multiple applications by Relevant Persons or other adult individuals not required
Application directly by a child for children’s legal aid for children’s court proceedings
Application for children’s legal aid on behalf of a child
Application for children’s legal aid by a safeguarder
Applications for children’s legal aid by a curator ad litem
Statutory criteria for legal aid for sheriff court proceedings where the applicant is a child
Statutory criteria for legal aid for sheriff court proceedings where the applicant is a relevant person or deemed relevant person
Statutory criteria for legal aid for sheriff court appeal proceedings
Statutory criteria for legal aid for sheriff court appeal proceedings where applicant is a section 126 individual
Other rights and facilities
Supporting information you should send with application for children’s legal aid for sheriff court proceedings
Conditions on grants of legal aid
Review of refusal of legal aid or conditions on the grant of legal aid
Financial Assessment
Financial conditions
Period of computation
Resource of partners
How we calculate income
How we assess capital
Undue Hardship
Contributions
Special circumstances
Appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and Court of Session
General – applications to us
Multiple applications not required
Application directly by a child
Application made by a representative (other than a solicitor) on behalf of a child
Application by a safeguarder
Application by a curator ad litem for appeals to Sheriff Appeal Court or Court of Session
Statutory criteria for legal aid for appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and Court of Session where the applicant is a child
Statutory criteria for legal aid for appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and Court of Session where the applicant is a relevant person/deemed relevant person
Statutory criteria for legal aid for appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and Court of Session where the applicant is seeking deemed relevant person status or has been undeemed relevant
Statutory criteria for legal aid for appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and Court of Session where the applicant is a section 126 individual
Other rights and facilities
Supporting information you should send with the application
Appeals from the Sheriff Appeal Court to the Court of Session
Representations from the reporter (or other party)
Appeals by the children’s reporter
Grants of legal aid subject to conditions
Review of refusal of legal aid or conditions attached to grant of legal aid
No payment can be claimed after successful appeal after refusal of legal aid
Legal aid cover where there is a successful appeal and a remit to the sheriff court for disposal
Special Urgency
Availability of special urgency cover after full legal aid is refused
Sanction applications before a grant of full legal aid is made
Status of your client
Legal aid application must be submitted within 28 days of commencement of urgent work
Extent of a grant of special urgency
Guidance on applying for cover for special urgency
The Declaration (previously known as mandate)
Special Urgency cover for steps in court proceedings before a decision is made on a legal aid application
What happens if your client does not comply with our requests for information?
Procedures after legal aid is granted
What work do I need sanction for?
General guidance on sanction for counsel
Applying for sanction for counsel
Factors that may justify the employment of junior counsel
Sanction for senior counsel acting alone or with junior counsel in children’s court proceedings
Instructing a solicitor advocate instead of an advocate
What work will sanction for counsel cover?
When you need sanction to employ an expert
Applying for sanction to employ an expert
Selecting an appropriate expert
Prior approval required for experts and limitations on their costs
Sanction for unusual expenditure or work likely to involve unusually large expenditure
What information should be provided in support of an application for sanction for unusual expenditure or work likely to involve unusually large expenditure?
Special measures for child witnesses and vulnerable adult witnesses
Taking precognitions in children’s hearings proof proceedings and disclosure of evidence by the Reporter
Viewing a Joint Investigative Interview (JII)
Reconsideration of sanction refusals or part grants
Changes of nominated solicitor and withdrawing from acting
High cost or complex cases
High cost and complex cases
Dedicated staff members
When we may contact SCRA and other parties regarding high cost and complex cases
Case management meetings between us and a party or parties in a high cost/complex case
Safeguarders and curators ad litem
Payment of Safeguarders and Curators Ad Litem in children’s hearings court proceedings
Appointment and payment of safeguarders where the safeguarder is a practicing solicitor
Appointment and payment of curators ad litem who are also practicing solicitors
Advice and Assistance cannot be given by safeguarders and curators ad litem
Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid
Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid
Duty to report abuse of legal aid
Our power to amend assessment
Suspension of legal aid
Termination of legal aid on change of circumstances
Termination of children’s legal aid other than on change of circumstances
Termination of legal aid in cases of false or incomplete information
Children's Duty Scheme
Duty Scheme and Recommendation Requests
Duty solicitor provisions of the 2011 Act
Operation of Duty Scheme
PVG Registration Requirement for the Children’s Duty Scheme
The children’s duty scheme and providing automatic legal aid
When your appointment as Duty solicitor ceases
Claims for payment for the provision of Automatic Legal Aid by the Duty solicitor
Recommendation Requests – Rule 50 and 61
Contempt of Court
Who can provide legal aid for contempt of court? Legal aid registration requirements
General scope of legal aid in contempt of court proceedings
Availability of legal aid for contempt of court proceedings
Contempt proceedings at first instance: power of the court to assign solicitor or counsel
Legal aid in contempt proceedings at the first instance: applying to the court and eligibility criteria
Legal aid in contempt appeals: applications to us and tests applied
Contempt of court: refusals of legal aid
Sanction in contempt of court cases
Termination of legal aid in contempt cases: application of Regulation 8 and implications
Children's Accounts
Introduction to Children's Legal Aid Accounts
Introduction to Children’s Legal Aid Accounts: overview and aims of this guidance
Standard of taxation for children’s legal aid including automatic legal aid but excluding ABWOR
The Table of Fees
Information needed to enable account to be assessed
Who may undertake work under a grant of children's legal aid?
Who may undertake work under a grant of children’s legal aid?
Submission of accounts
Preparation of account expenses
Timely submission of account of expenses
Essential information to include in an account
Account entries – narrative
Related or linked accounts
Supporting documentation to submit with an account
Detailed fees
What supporting information will be needed to justify fees charged
Detailed fees for Automatic Children’s Legal Aid
Sheriff Court (excluding automatic legal aid and ABWOR)
Court of Session
Uplift in Fees not available
The Detailed Account
Charges for attending court
Charging for meetings with client
Perusal charges
Charges for preparation
Charges for telephone calls
Charges for affidavits and precognitions
Charges for framing documents
Charges for letters and citations
Charges for miscellaneous formal work
Travel
Fees chargeable for travel
Reimbursement of fees and outlays
Eligibility for interim reimbursement of fees and outlays
Procedure for seeking payment of interim outlays / fees
The Account (outlays)
Including outlays within your account
Solicitor travel outlays
General guidance on witness expenses applicable to all witness types
Outlays for expert witnesses cited to attend court
Outlays for professional witnesses cited to attend court
Outlays for ordinary witnesses cited to attend court
Fees payable to Sheriff officers and Messengers at arms
Counsels fees
Practice notes
Practice Note No 2, 2018: Children’s referrals
Practice Note No. 1, 2018: Children’s Referrals Under The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011
