https://www.slab.org.uk/solicitors/training-e-learning-and-laol/age-of-criminal-responsibility-scotland-act-2019-part-4-applications-for-childrens-legal-aid-for-sheriff-court-and-sheriff-appeal-court-proceedings/
https://www.slab.org.uk/solicitors/training-e-learning-and-laol/age-of-criminal-responsibility-scotland-act-2019-part-4-applications-for-childrens-legal-aid-for-sheriff-court-and-sheriff-appeal-court-proceedings/
Two new options have been added to the ‘Who is the applicant?’ question:
For ‘Other interested person ACR’ a mandatory free text field will also be displayed. The sheriff will decide if he wants to hear from such a person who can then seek legal assistance from you.
When an ACR option is selected, the following information text will be displayed:
‘ACR stands for Part 4 of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019. These proceedings do not involve the Reporter. They are proceedings instigated by the police before a sheriff where they are seeking various Orders in relation to a child. Only the child, parent and other interested person can be heard if the sheriff requests to hear from them.’
The Reporter details section of the application will not be displayed when either of the new options have been selected. This includes the ‘SCRA case reference number (if known)’ and ‘SCRA child number (if known)’ fields.
Three new options have been added to the question ‘Type of Proceedings for which legal aid is sought’. As multiple selections can be made, the list available will display all possible combinations of the options:
A new mandatory question has been added to the application – ‘Current Stage’:
When the current stage is ‘Initial application’, the ‘Applicant Is’ question will not be displayed and a list of Sheriff Courts will be available for selection for Location of Court.
If any of the new ACR options have been selected, the question ‘Are there relevant persons/deemed relevant persons involved?’ will be reworded as follows:
