Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2004 No. 88

LEGAL AID AND ADVICE

Legal Advice and Assistance (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Made

2nd March 2004

To be laid before Parliament

Coming into operation

12th April 2004

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 3(2), 7(3), 22 and 27 of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(1) and now vested in him(2), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Advice and Assistance (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 and shall come into operation on 12th April 2004.

(2) In these Regulations, “the Order” means the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.

Revocation

2. The Legal Advice and Assistance (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(3) are hereby revoked.

Persons eligible for advice and assistance

3. For the weekly sum of “£192” specified in Article 3(1) of the Order(4) there shall be substituted the weekly sum of “£197”.

Contributions from persons receiving advice and assistance

4. For the weekly sum of “£81” specified in Article 7(2) of the Order(5) there shall be substituted the weekly sum of “£83”.

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Lord Filkin

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department for Constitutional Affairs

Dated 2nd March 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 so as to:

(a)increase the upper income limit to make legal advice and assistance available to those with disposable income of not more than £197 a week (instead of £192) (Regulation 3);

(b)increase the lower income limit below which legal advice and assistance is available without payment of a contribution to £83 a week (instead of £81) (Regulation 4).

No changes are made to the capital limits.

(1)

S.I. 1981/228 (N.I. 8); Article 27 is an interpretation provision and is recited because of the meaning assigned to the words “prescribed” and “regulations”

(2)

S.I. 1982/159

(3)

S.R. 2003 No. 89

(4)

Which figure was most recently substituted by S.R. 2003 No. 89

(5)

Which figure was most recently substituted by S.R. 2003 No. 89