https://www.slab.org.uk/solicitors/legal-aid-guidance/criminal-guidance/

Criminal guidance

Carrying out criminal legal assistance

Availability of advice and assistance
- Definition of criminal advice and assistance
- Matters covered by criminal advice and assistance
- The different types of criminal advice and assistance
- Who may provide criminal advice and assistance?
- Who may receive criminal advice and assistance?
- Cases where our approval is required to grant criminal A&A
- Commencement of advice and assistance: effective date
- The role of unqualified persons in the provision of criminal A&A
- Questions you should ask applicants in determining whether to grant A&A
- Client information and requirement to satisfy yourself on eligibility before granting
- Criminal A&A: list of the solicitor’s responsibilities
Advice and assistance application procedures
- Completing the criminal advice and assistance application form
- Verification of financial eligibility and contributions
- Criminal advice and assistance: the client’s responsibilities
- Financial verification of capital – to be checked even in passport benefit cases
- Financial verification of income
- Verification in cases where no documentary evidence of eligibility is immediately available
- Verification in prisoners’ cases
- The importance of providing up-to-date documentary evidence
- Client declaration: where it is not practicable to see verification of income or capital at the outset
- Criminal A&A and contributions: your role in collection
- Telephone grant of advice and assistance: requirements
- Commencing A&A: providing notice to us and late applications
- Multiple grants of advice and assistance
- Criminal advice and assistance: what are the basic limits of expenditure?
- Exceeding the initial limits of expenditure
- Applications on behalf of children
- Changes of nominated solicitor
- Second solicitor giving A&A on the same matter: prior authority required
- Procedure for withdrawing from giving advice and assistance
- Relationship of AA to ABWOR and criminal legal aid
- Outlays for third parties incurred under advice and assistance
- Private charging after a grant of advice and assistance
ABWOR in summary criminal proceedings
- General scope of ABWOR in criminal proceedings
- Eligibility criteria for ABWOR
- Responsibility of solicitor in criminal ABWOR
- ABWOR in summary cases where accused not in custody : interests of justice
- The interests of justice test
- ABWOR in summary cases – accused in custody – “appointed solicitor”
- Definition of “appointed solicitor”
- Examples of situations where the appointed solicitor cannot appear on behalf of the accused
- Applying for ABWOR – summary cases
- Initial limits of authorised expenditure under regulations 6 and 6A
- Withdrawal from acting for a client under ABWOR
- Change of solicitor under summary criminal ABWOR
- Post-certificate ABWOR arrangements for Glasgow Alcohol Court and other problem Solving Courts
ABWOR in other criminal proceedings
- General scope of ABWOR in non-summary criminal proceedings
- Eligibility criteria for ABWOR
- Responsibility of solicitor
- Cases for which ABWOR is available other than those under summary procedure
- Cases where our prior authority is needed
- Initial limits of authorised expenditure and increase applications
- Youth court and domestic abuse court pilots
- Availability of ABWOR in a drug court
- Double jeopardy cases
- Recovery of sensitive documents
ABWOR in parole board proceedings
- Provision of A&A and ABWOR in Parole Board cases: introduction
- ABWOR in Parole Board cases: relevant legal aid regulations and Parole Board rules
- Availability of ABWOR for Parole Board cases: specific categories of prisoner
- Parole Board procedure: governing rules and process
- Parole Board cases: scope of ABWOR available and initial limit of expenditure
- Parole Board cases: eligibility criteria for ABWOR
- Parole Board cases: increases in authorised expenditure
- Parole Board interviews: outwith scope of ABWOR
Increases for advice and assistance and ABWOR
- Requirements in applications for increases
- How to apply for an increase: process and information required
- Increases for the Employment of Counsel and Expert Witnesses and other third parties
- Procedure under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
- Petition for the removal of a disqualification under section 42 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988
- Increase requests for Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission cases
- Template increases for deferred sentences, DTTOs and post-conviction hearings in ABWOR
Criminal legal aid - general availability
- Scope and nature of criminal legal aid
- Who may provide criminal legal aid
- Distinct proceedings, bail, preliminary pleas, reduction from solemn to summary, desertion of proceedings, remits to and from the High Court.
- Separate application for legal aid
- When to make an application for criminal legal aid, automatic legal aid, solemn, summary and appeals cases
- Criminal legal aid for referrals to the European Court, Devolution issues and the Supreme Court
- Referrals by Designated Life Prisoners excluded from criminal legal aid but covered by ABWOR
Automatic availability of criminal legal aid
- Availability of automatic criminal legal aid
- Automatic legal aid for an identification parade
- Automatic legal aid for solemn proceedings
- Automatic legal aid for summary proceedings, duty solicitors and appointed solicitors
- Automatic legal aid for cases involving mental health issues, pleas in bar of trails, mental health proofs, examination of facts, section 62 or 63 appeals
- Automatic legal aid for new prosecution for the same or similar offence
- Automatic legal aid for sexual offences and certain cases involving child witnesses under the age of 12, other cases involving vulnerable witnesses and certain cases under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018
- Intimation form for automatic legal aid in certain situations
Duty solicitor arrangements
- Our obligation to make arrangements for Court duty solicitors
- Purposes for which court duty solicitors must be available in solemn and summary procedures
- Continuity of representation outwith solicitor’s period of duty
- Circumstances in summary custody cases when only the court duty solicitor may give legal aid
- Criminal court duty plans, eligibility criteria and consultation with local faculties
- Delegating or exchanging court duty work: administrative provisions relating to duty and alternate duty solicitors
- Responsibilities and obligations of the court duty solicitor and the relationship with the nominated solicitor’s role
- Duty solicitor payment arrangements, follow up fees, preliminary pleas, youth and domestic courts, failures to appear, appointed solicitors, reduced summary fees, prevaricating witnesses
- Parallel advice and assistance with court duty claims
Court applications: criminal legal aid
- Criminal legal aid – applications to the court
- How to complete a court application form
Summary - applications to SLAB
- Availability of criminal legal aid in summary proceedings
- Applying for legal aid in summary proceedings
- Statutory criteria for grant of criminal legal aid in summary proceedings
- Time limit for applications in summary proceedings
- Statutory factors to be taken into consideration when applying the interests of justice test
- Evaluation of factors and contra-indicators in interest of justice test
- Special urgency in summary criminal proceedings
- Review of application refusal in summary proceedings
- Exceptional case status application in summary proceedings
- Factors we take into account when assessing exceptional case status
- Payment-related information in summary criminal proceedings
- Glasgow Alcohol Court and other problem Solving Courts
Summary - financial eligibility
- Undue hardship test in summary criminal legal aid applications
- Assessing disposable income
- Assessment of Disposable Capital
- Applicants receiving multiple benefits
- Requirement to provide financial verification and bank statements for employed clients
Solemn - applications to SLAB
- Availability of legal aid in solemn criminal proceedings
- Court grants of automatic legal aid in solemn proceedings
- Legal Aid Online applications for solemn legal aid
- Limited availability if your client has other rights and facilities
- Assessment of undue hardship in solemn proceedings
- Special urgency and solemn legal aid
- Procedure for review of our decision to refuse legal aid
Solemn - financial eligibility
- Undue hardship test in solemn criminal applications
- Assessing disposable income
- Assessing disposable capital
- Change of circumstances and standard conditions
- Applicants in receipt of benefits
- Requirement to provide financial verification and bank statements if your client is employed
Appeals - applications to SLAB
- General availability of criminal legal aid for appeals and status as distinct proceedings
- Choosing the right legal aid declaration form for criminal appeals
- No legal aid at first instance and applying for an appeal
- Availability of legal aid in appeals for clients with other rights or facilities to assist with legal costs
- Financial tests applied for legal aid application in criminal appeals
- Timing issues and when to apply for legal aid in criminal appeals
- Test applied to legal aid applications for appeals under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
- Criminal legal aid and late appeals
- Availability of legal aid and tests you should address in applications for legal aid for an appeal to the Supreme Court
- Criminal legal aid and Crown appeals: is a separate legal aid application required?
- Criminal legal aid for appeals in Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission cases
- Power of the High Court to determine interests of justice test in appeal applications
- Supporting documentation you should provide for legal aid applications in criminal appeals
- Availability of special urgency for criminal appeals
- Review of our refusal to grant legal aid for a criminal appeal
Post grant work and work needing prior approval
- When do I need to apply for sanction?
- Sanction sought at petition stage
- Employment of counsel in criminal applications
- Taking defence statements in High Court cases
- Employment of expert witnesses
- Work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure
- Review of refusal of sanction
High cost and complex criminal cases
- Criminal cases subject to special arrangements due to them being high cost / complex
- How we assist you in high cost/complex cases
- Situations when you may wish to consult with us prior to applying
- Our role in identifying and avoiding duplication of work across high cost/complex cases
- Early meetings between us in high cost cases
- Good practice in complex criminal cases
Change of solicitor
- Nominated solicitor ceasing to act for assisted person
- Client dispensing with your services
- Your client wants another solicitor to act
- Timescale of transfer decisions
Termination of criminal legal aid
- Termination of criminal legal aid by the court
- Termination of criminal legal aid by us
Proceeds of crime
- Criminal and civil legal aid in proceeds of crime cases
- Proceeds of crime work where legal aid granted at first instance
- Proceeds of crime work where no legal aid in the first instance

Contempt of Court

Criminal fixed payment accounts