Grant application form

The application must be completed by a principal within the firm with authority to bind the firm or enter into a contract on behalf of the firm.

This is not a Save and Resume form – if you close your browser any information entered will be lost.

A legal firm is eligible if:

• The firm has been active in providing legal aid over the period 19 March 2020 to 24 January 2021
• The firm has been generating at least 20% of its business turnover from legal aid income before the Covid-19 pandemic
• The firm will continue to offer legal aid services to the public operating in the legal aid sector post Covid.

Information you will require before starting the form:

• Cash turnover for your last full trading year up to 31 March 2020 (excluding outlays and VAT):

This will depend on your business’s financial year – for example, if your year ends in October, provide your turnover from October 2018 to October 2019. If you’ve not been trading a full year, use the turnover you generated up to 31 March 2020 which we’ll consider on a pro rata basis.

We require the cash turnover to calculate the percentage of your income from legal aid payments. We also use this percentage net of the percentage of other Covid support from any gross payments due.

Evidence of your cash turnover will be required retrospectively to substantiate your claim. Depending on your business structure that may require management accounts signed by an independent auditor or accountant.

It will be a term in the grant agreement with Scottish Government that you will be required to produce vouching.

• For sole practitioners and partnerships: the Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) numbers of up to four partners
• For firms that provide legal services to a connected law centre: We also require the name and company/OSCR registrations details for the law centre. Where the law centre has received Covid support please include those details.
• The legal aid firm code and practitioner codes for all solicitors mandating payment to the firm or law centre as at 24 January 2021
• Other Coronavirus support funding: you must provide details of any funding received or pending, including type, amount and reference
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: If your firm has claimed furlough you must provide your PAYE reference number
• Company registration number and OSCR charity number
• Data protection: The consent of all practitioners in this application to share data with us and to consent to the data protection consents in this application on their behalf.

Please note that we will use your bank account details that we use for legal aid payments and completion of the application includes consent to pass those details to Scottish Government to use for the purposes of making any payment.

Contact: Please contact us if you have any questions about the information requested in the form.