Suspension of legal aid

Regulation 29 of the Children’s Legal Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 2013 gives us power to suspend legal aid for up to 90 days in certain circumstances:

  • When your client is in arrears of contribution.
  • Where your client has not provided necessary information or documents.
  • When we have to consider whether legal aid should be terminated because your client no longer satisfies the appropriate statutory merits test for receiving legal aid.
  • Where your client has made an untrue statement to us or has failed to disclose information about their means or their case.

It is important to note that legal aid is not available during the suspension period.  Work you do during this time cannot be charged under legal aid, even if legal aid is again made available after the period of suspension.

 

Our power to amend assessment
Termination of legal aid on change of circumstances

In this section

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Duty to report change of circumstances

Find out what changes in circumstances must be reported to us and who has a duty to report such changes, including solicitors and counsel.

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Duty to report abuse of legal aid

Find out about what constitutes abuse of legal aid and your duty, and that of counsel, to report abuse of legal aid to us.

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Our power to amend assessment

Find out when we can reassess your client’s financial eligibility or carry out a redetermination based on corrected information.

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Termination of legal aid on change of circumstances

Find out when we can terminate legal aid following a change of circumstances and the effect such termination has on the assisted person’s status.

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Termination of children’s legal aid other than on change of circumstances

Find out when we can stop making legal aid available where there is no change in circumstances and whether we can recover sums paid from your client.

Changes in circumstances and withdrawal of legal aid

Termination of legal aid in cases of false or incomplete information

Find out when we can terminate legal aid where false or incomplete information supplied and when it can recover sums paid from the Fund from your client.