government funding

• The government Legal aid agency is responsible for the administration of civil and criminal legal aid in England and Wales, their role is to:

  • Make sure legal services provided by solicitors, barristers and the not for profit sector are available to the general public
  • Run the public defender service to give a range of services within the criminal defence market
  • Fund the civil legal advice service
• The civil legal advice service provides free and specialist initial legal advice to people across England and wales who qualify for legal aid. it advises on matters such as debt, education, discrimination, housing and family issues.
• Civil legal aid provides funding for claimants In certain civil disputes when legal advice, mediation or representation in courts is required.
• The claimant, in order to get civil legal aid, will need to pass a merit and means test.
• The means test, to access civil legal aid, will look at the claimant's income and capital. It will also look at their partner's finances unless they have a contrary interest.
• In accessing civil legal aid, the merits test looks at the reason for the legal action and the chance of success. Only certain limited types of claims are funded by civil legal aid. these include repossession of a property, homelessness, asylum and immigration cases, or protection from violence and harassment.
• If civil legal aid is granted, this will pay for legal advice, assistance, and legal representation by a lawyer.
• If a claimant does not qualify for legal aid, or the case they are taking isn't within the qualifying types they will haveto pay for their own legal costs unless they can obtain a conditional fee agreement.
• Criminal legal aid services are under the jurisdiction of the legal aid agency. the agency enters into contracts with legal firms to provide legal services for those who have been charged with criminal offences.
• Under section 13 of the Legal Aid, sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, legal aid for advice and assistance is provided for a suspect detained in police custody and has requested legal advice:

  • It isn't means tested
  • Advice is provided by Duty Solicitors, usually by telephone
  • the duty solicitor decides whether the suspect qualifies for the scheme
  • solicitors can only claim for attending the police station If they can show that attendance was expected to materially progress the case.
• A defendant needs to pass a means and merits test in order to receive legal aid for advice and assistance from a solicitor or barrister.
• For the means test, in a criminal case, the defendant's income and capital and those of their partner will be considered together unless the partner has a contrary interest. their income is means tested for cases in both the magistrate's and crown court. if the defendant receives state benefits, they will automatically pass this test.
• If there is a contrary interest between the defendant and their partner, this refers to the fact that the partner is a victim of the defendant.
• The merits test in a criminal case considers the merits of the case and whether legal aid should be granted, for example, If the defendant has previous convictions, the nature of the conviction, and the risk of custody should they are found guilty. the more serious the charge is, or its possible consequences, the more likely that the defendant will qualify for legal aid