1.—(1) The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 is modified as follows.
(2) Part 1 of Schedule 1 (civil legal services) has effect as if after paragraph 46 there were inserted—
47.—(1) Civil legal services provided to an individual in relation to—
(a)housing;
(b)debt;
(c)a benefit, allowance, payment, credit or pension under—
(i)a social security enactment;
(ii)the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979(1);
(iii)Part 4 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008(2);
(d)a council tax reduction scheme.
(2) Sub-paragraph (1) is subject to the exclusions in Part 2 of this Schedule, with the exception of paragraphs 1 and 15 of that Part.
(3) The services described in sub-paragraph (1) do not include advocacy.
(4) The services described in sub-paragraph (1) do not include the provision of more than three hours of advice and assistance in total—
(a)in respect of any one or more of those services;
(b)by one or more providers of those services.
(5) The services described in sub-paragraph (1) only include services provided to an individual who is a pilot scheme participant in relation to the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme.
(6) In this paragraph—
(a)“council tax reduction scheme” has the meaning given in paragraph 8A(4);
(b)“the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme” means the pilot scheme established by the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022;
(c)“home” has the meaning given in paragraph 33(9) to (13);
(d)“housing” means matters which concern—
(i)the possession, status, terms of occupation, repair, improvement, eviction from, quiet enjoyment of, or payment of rent or other charges for, an individual’s home;
(ii)the rights of leaseholders under the terms of their lease or under any statutory provision (including in relation to leasehold enfranchisement);
(iii)the allocation and transfer of housing and the provision of sites for occupation,
but does not include disputes relating to any boundary of a property;
(e)“pilot scheme participant” has the meaning given in article 4(1) of the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022;
(f)“social security enactment” has the meaning given in paragraph 8(3).”.