https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/certain-outlays-not-chargeable-under-advice-and-assistance-and-abwor/
The Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) (No.2) Regulations 2023 came into force on 29 April 2023.
This Guidance item was not affected but a copy has been placed with related guidance in the archive section for the regulations in force prior to 29 April 2023.
Regulation 7 of the fees and information regulations provides that a solicitor is not entitled to fees and outlays attributable to the provision of advice and assistance where ABWOR is made available, or advice and assistance and ABWOR where criminal legal aid is made available, other than automatic legal aid. This guidance deals with outlays.
There are exceptions to this rule including outlays incurred in the provision of police station advice to any person to whom section 32 (right to have a solicitor present) applies, and other circumstances. Otherwise, we cannot make any other payment to you by way of outlays in connection with your own costs.
The provision, however, only relates to payments to the solicitor and does not affect the entitlement of a third party whose expenses form a vouched outlay or disbursement in your account. So, for example, outlays you incur in connection with
are chargeable, but costs you incur for example on travel, mileage, train fares, subsistence etc. are not chargeable.
This rule applies not only to outlays incurred under A&A in the context of relevant ABWOR, but to outlays incurred under A&A and ABWOR in the context of relevant summary criminal legal aid (regardless of the order in which these aid types are available.
You should claim chargeable outlays, whether under ABWOR or legal aid, in the single criminal account that you submit to us upon conclusion of proceedings, bearing in mind the outlays included within the fixed payment listed at regulation 4(2) of the regulations.
