legal aid
A scheme, first introduced under the Legal Aid Act 1988, whereby the payment of legal costs can be made out of public funds for those unable to meet the costs themselves, provided that the person and the case qualify under the various tests laid down. Under the original scheme, civil legal aid had two main components: (i) legal advice and help preliminary to litigation (sometimes known as the green form scheme); and (ii) full legal aid, which provided payment for legal advice and assistance at all stages of litigation, including appeals. There was also an intermediate level of help known as assistance by way of representation (ABWOR), under which legal representation was provided for a particular hearing only. In criminal cases, the court determined whether legal aid was granted and made a legal aid order if it considered such aid desirable in the interest of justice.

The original legal aid scheme was replaced in April 2000 by the Community Legal Service, a scheme administered by the Legal Services Commission. Under this arrangement, the green form scheme was replaced by the legal help scheme, ABWOR by the help at court service, and full legal aid by full representation. Three further levels of service were investigative help, which provided funding for an investigation of whether or not to proceed with a case; support funding, which provided some funds to support high-cost claims but not the majority of the costs; and specific directions, by which the Lord Chancellor could authorize support for particular claims, as in test cases or class actions.

The principal aim of these reforms was to cut the costs of legal aid while ensuring that public funds were directed to those most in need. This was to be achieved by excluding various categories of applicants and also by laying down strict criteria for eligibility to each level of service. Central to these criteria was the cost-benefit rule, under which funding could be refused if the benefit to be gained was considered not to justify the level of costs.

Still more radical reforms were introduced under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and came into force as from 1 April 2013. Further limitations were placed on eligibility, with applicants now being means-tested on their capital as well as their income. At the same time, many civil legal services were placed entirely beyond the scope of legal aid provision; in private family law, for example, aid is now effectively limited to those cases in which there are child protection issues or a history of domestic violence. In criminal cases, exceptional funding may be available where a failure to provide aid could constitute a breach of the applicant’s right to a fair trial under the European Convention. The Community Legal Service was replaced by the Legal Aid Agency, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.

https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid

• A guide to claiming legal aid from the GOV.UK website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/legal-aid-agency

• Information from the Legal Aid Agency

• presumptive evidence
• pre-termination negotiation
• pretrial review
• previous convictions
• previous statement
• price
• prima facie
• prima facie case
• prima facie evidence
• Primary Care Trust
• primary evidence
• primary facts
• Prime Minister
• principal
• Principal Registry
• principle of legality
• priority
• priority notice
• priority of assignment
• priority of mortgages
• priority of time
• privacy
• private Act
• private Bill
• private carrier