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Funding Code
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What is the Funding Code?
The Funding Code is the set of rules we use to decide what individual cases we will fund through civil legal aid.
See Documents for the Criteria and the Procedures.
Criteria
The Criteria (see Documents) define what services we will fund. These range from basic legal advice to representation in court proceedings.
Different criteria are set for different types of case according to the Lord Chancellor's priorities.
Procedures
The Procedures (see Documents) set out how we make decisions about funding civil legal aid. They explain the 4 ways services are delivered:
- Controlled Work
- Licensed Work
- Other Contracted Work
- Non-Contracted Work.
Changes - May 2011
Following the decision in The Queen (On the application of Evans) v The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice [2011] EWHC 1146 (Admin), the amendments to the Funding Code criteria relating to client interest in judicial review cases (requiring a real benefit to the applicant, their family or the environment) have been quashed.
Section 7 of the Funding Code Criteria and Chapter 16 of the Funding Code Guidance have been revised accordingly.
The revised versions apply to all funding applications, current or future.
Guidance on funding decisions
The Funding Code’s decision making guidance is divided into:
- General funding principles
- Standard funding criteria
- Family guidance
- Non-family guidance
- Other guidance topics.
Public Interest Reports
We’ve set up an advisory panel to help make decisions on certain cases. The role of the Public Interest Advisory Panel will form part of the jurisdiction of a new Special Controls Review Panel. Public interest issues can affect:
- whether a case is within scope
- how the merits, cost benefit and affordability of a case should be approached.
Read more about Public Interest Reports.
Narrative and guidance: public funding
The 'Narrative and guidance: public funding' document contains an explanation of public funding. Topics covered include:
- the statutory charge
- costs
- costs orders against funded clients and the LSC
- prior authorities (including for experts in Children Act cases)
Costs assessment guidance 2010
The revised costs assessment guidance applies to work governed by the 2010 Standard Civil Contract.
It does not, however, apply to work in the Family category of law, or to Housing work that continues under the Unified Civil Contract rather than the 2010 Standard Civil Contract. Such work remains governed by the costs assessment guidance issued under the Unified Civil Contract.
There are no changes of substance in the revised guidance. However, the transfer of assessment of remuneration in Licensed Work cases from the courts to the LSC, anticipated in 2010 Standard Civil Contract Specification, has not yet been implemented. The costs assessment guidance, therefore, confirms that the costs limits for assessment by the court or LSC remain as under the previous specification.
Last updated: 26 September 2011