CDS News

From 27 Oct 08 there will be a new passporting benefit under our civil (CLS) and crime (CDS) schemes.

Clients who directly or indirectly¹ get the income-based (also called income-related) element of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will automatically fulfil the financial criteria for funding.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaces Incapacity Benefit and Income Support paid on incapacity grounds for new claimants from 27 Oct. (Clients with a pre-existing claim for Income Support or Incapacity Benefit² will initially continue to receive their existing benefits.)

There are two types of ESA: income-related and contribution-based.

People will receive income-related ESA payments

• if they haven’t paid enough National Insurance contributions
• if their income and capital are below the relevant limits.

A client who gets income-related ESA will be passported for all levels of service under the CLS and CDS schemes, where means testing applies.

People are entitled to contribution-based ESA payments if they have paid enough National Insurance contributions.

A client who gets contribution-based ESA will not be passported for funding under the civil or criminal schemes, unless it is topped up by the income-related element.

The appropriate means test will need to be carried out.
 

Clients will usually receive a computer-generated notification of benefit entitlement; in a minority of cases it will be a clerically issued notification.

Both types of notification will identify how the award is made up. So it will be clear whether there is any income-related ESA in payment, in which case the client will be passported.

Income-related ESA joins the existing passporting benefits under the civil and criminal schemes.

Further information about other passporting benefits can be found on the Keycards, at CLS > Civil legal aid eligibility and CDS > Criminal legal aid eligibility.

There is no change to the financial eligibility limits advised for the civil and crime schemes in April this year.

Updates will be made to all relevant CLS and CDS forms, eligibility calculators and guidance to reflect this change.

¹ A person is deemed to be indirectly in receipt of a benefit if they are included as a dependant on the claim (eg spouse, partner, child or other dependant). If the claim does not cover that individual, he /she is not indirectly in receipt of the benefit and will not be passported for legal aid.

² Incapacity benefit is not a passporting benefit.