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

Criminal guidance

Carrying out criminal legal assistance

Table of fees
Availability of advice and assistance
- Definition and scope of criminal advice and assistance
- Criminal ABWOR and “representation”
- Initial limits and increases in authorised expenditure
- Who may grant and provide criminal advice and assistance?
- Who is a person for the purpose of receiving criminal AA?
- Cases where our prior approval is required to grant criminal A&A
- Admitting client to A&A and date of commencement of advice
- Initial checks and steps when granting A&A
- Single grant under fixed payment ABWOR in summary criminal proceedings
- Single payment under A&A/ABWOR in criminal proceedings
- Criminal A&A: our functions and responsibilities, you and the assisted person
Advice and assistance application procedures
- Notification of a grant of A&A, provision of ABWOR and your client’s declaration
- Assessment of financial eligibility for criminal advice and assistance, financial limits in Keycard and contribution
- Determination of disposable capital and disposable income
- Financial assessment and verification of capital – to be checked even in passport benefit cases
- Financial assessment and verification of income
- Verification of financial eligibility in criminal A&A
- Verification: application of the tests of “necessary” and “practicable”
- Advice on obtaining and retaining documentary evidence and the age of documentary evidence
- Cases where documentary evidence not available immediately
- Verification where your client is in custody or in prison
- Multiple grants of advice and assistance
- The need to work within initial limit of authorised expenditure and increases in authorised expenditure
- Increases for the employment of counsel, expert witnesses and other third parties
- Increases in post-conviction ABWOR breaches and reviews, multiple deferred sentences and templates
- 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
- Advice to or on behalf of children
- Changes of nominated solicitor under advice and assistance
- Second solicitor giving advice and assistance on the same matter: prior authority required
- Procedure for withdrawing from giving advice and assistance/private charging after a grant of advice and assistance
Assistance by way of representation (ABWOR) in summary criminal proceedings
- General scope of ABWOR in summary criminal proceedings
- Eligibility criteria and making ABWOR available in summary criminal proceedings
- Commencement and provision of ABWOR
- Advice and assistance and ABWOR post-grant verification checks
- ABWOR in a summary criminal case – client not appearing from custody (on the relevant charge/s)
- Failure to appear – appearance on a warrant
- ABWOR where client not appearing from custody: the interests of justice test
- ABWOR in summary cases – assisted person in custody – “appointed solicitor”
- Definition of “appointed solicitor” and principal criteria for acting
- Criteria and conditions to act as appointed solicitor
- Examples of situations where you cannot appear as appointed solicitor on behalf of a client
- Change of solicitor under summary criminal ABWOR
Assistance by way of representation in other criminal proceedings
- General scope of ABWOR in non-summary criminal proceedings
- Eligibility criteria for general ABWOR (other than ABWOR in summary criminal proceedings)
- The provision of general criminal ABWOR
- General ABWOR proceedings for which a financial test is necessary
- Proceedings under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
- Double jeopardy cases
- General ABWOR proceedings for which a financial test is not necessary
- ABWOR proceedings needing our prior authority
- Recovery proceedings under ABWOR needing our prior authority
Assistance by way of representation 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
General availability of criminal legal aid
- 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 the High Court
- Separate applications for legal aid under summary and solemn procedure
- When to make an application for automatic criminal legal aid, solemn and summary criminal legal aid and an appeal case
- Criminal legal aid for a referral to the European Court, compatibility issues and the UK Supreme Court
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 trials, mental health proof, examination of facts, section 62 or 63 appeals
- Automatic legal aid for new prosecution for the same or similar offence
- Automatic legal aid for cases involving sexual offences, child witnesses, vulnerable witnesses and the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018
- Intimation form for automatic criminal legal aid
Court duty solicitor arrangements
- Our obligation to make a court duty solicitor available
- Identification parades and purposes for which a court duty solicitor must be available in solemn and summary procedures
- Continuity of representation outwith your period of court 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
- Responsibilities and obligations of the court duty solicitor and the relationship with the nominated solicitor
- Duty solicitor payment arrangements, identification parade fees, follow up fees, preliminary pleas, failure to appear, appointed solicitors, duty solicitor/half fee, prevaricating witness
- Advice and assistance when acting as court duty solicitor
Criminal legal aid applications to the court
- Applications to the court for legal aid in a summary 23(1)(b) case
- How to complete a court application form CRIM/COURTAPP
Applications for Exceptional Case Status in summary criminal proceedings
- Exceptional case status application in summary proceedings
- Factors we take into account when assessing exceptional case status
Applications in summary criminal proceedings
- Availability of criminal legal aid in summary proceedings
- Applying for legal aid in summary proceedings
- Time limit for applications in summary proceedings
- Statutory criteria for a grant of criminal legal aid 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 a refusal of an application in summary proceedings
- Glasgow Alcohol Court and other problem Solving Courts
Financial eligibility for summary criminal legal aid
- Undue hardship test in summary criminal legal aid applications
- Assessing disposable income
- Assessing disposable capital
- Changes in financial circumstances
Applications in solemn proceedings
- Availability of legal aid in solemn criminal 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
Financial eligibility for solemn criminal legal aid
- Undue hardship test in solemn criminal legal aid applications
- Assessing disposable income in solemn proceedings
- Assessing disposable capital
- Changes in financial circumstances
Criminal legal aid applications for appeals
- General availability of criminal legal aid for appeals and status as distinct proceedings
- Choosing the right legal aid declaration form for criminal appeals
- Supporting documentation you should provide in a legal aid application for a criminal appeal
- Availability of special urgency for criminal appeals
- Appeal applications where financial eligibility test to be applied and information on assessing a client’s disposable income
- Information on assessing a client’s disposable capital where financial test to be applied in a criminal appeal application
- Availability of legal aid in appeals for a client with other rights or facilities to assist with legal costs
- Timing issues: when to apply for legal aid for a criminal appeal
- Criminal legal aid for late appeals
- Legal aid application for an appeal where leave to appeal is not required
- Review of our refusal to grant legal aid for a criminal appeal
- Criminal legal aid and a Crown appeal: is a separate legal aid application required?
- Availability of legal aid and tests you should address in an application for legal aid for an appeal to the UK Supreme Court
- Power of the High Court to determine interests of justice test in appeal applications
- Legal aid for an appeal by a person convicted of an offence who has since died Criminal legal aid for appeals in Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission cases
- Criminal legal aid for appeals in Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission cases
Work that needs our prior approval after legal aid granted
- Applying for prior approval
Approval for counsel
- Approval for counsel – test, definitions and principles
- Circumstances where approval for counsel is required
- Approval of counsel in the Sheriff court – factors we will consider
- Approval of counsel at the Petition stage in High Court proceedings
- Applications for employment of senior counsel, more than one junior counsel and senior counsel acting alone
- What work our approval covers
Approval for an expert witness
- Application for the employment of an expert witness
- Employment of a professional (including witnesses as to fact)
- Employment of expert witnesses
Approval for unusual work or unusually large expenditure
- Work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure
- Circumstances when you need to apply for approval and when this is not required
- Approval for costs of special measures for child witnesses and vulnerable adult witnesses
- Taking defence statements in High Court cases
High cost cases
- Criminal cases subject to special arrangements
- How we assist you in high cost/complex cases
- Our role in identifying and avoiding duplication of work across high cost cases
- Good practice in complex criminal cases – High Court Protocol
Change of solicitor
- Nominated solicitor ceasing to act for the assisted person
- Client dispensing with your services
- Assisted person wants another solicitor to act
- Turnaround time for applications for change of solicitor
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

Legal aid for contempt of court proceedings

Criminal fixed payment accounts

Interpreting and translating