The Sheriff Court Fees Amendment Order 2008

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Sheriff Court Fees Amendment Order 2008 and, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), shall come into force on 1st August 2008.

(2) Article 2(3)(b) and Schedule 2 shall come into force, and article 2(3)(a) and Schedule 1 shall cease to have effect, on 1st April 2009.

(3) Article 2(3)(c) and Schedule 3 shall come into force, and article 2(3)(b) and Schedule 2 shall cease to have effect, on 1st April 2010.

Amendment of the Sheriff Court Fees Order 1997

2.—(1) The Sheriff Court Fees Order 1997(1) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) For article 7 (exemption of certain persons from fees)(2), substitute–

“Exemption of certain persons from fees

7.— (1) A fee to which this article applies shall not be payable by a person if–

(a) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of income support under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(3);

(b) the person is in receipt of an income based jobseeker’s allowance (payable under the Jobseekers Act 1995(4));

(c) the person is in receipt of civil legal aid within the meaning of section 13(2) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986(5) in respect of the matter in the Table of Fees in connection with which the fee is payable;

(d) the fee is payable in connection with a simplified divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership application and the person is in receipt of advice and assistance from a solicitor under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 in respect of that application;

(e) the person’s solicitor is undertaking work in relation to the matter in the Table of Fees in connection with which the fee is payable on the basis of any regulations made under section 36 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 providing for legal aid in a matter of special urgency;

(f) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of guarantee credit under the State Pension Credit Act 2002(6); or

(g) the person or his or her partner is in receipt of working tax credit, provided that–

(i) child tax credit is being paid to the party, or otherwise following a claim for child tax credit made jointly by the members of a couple (as defined in section 3(5A) of the Tax Credits Act 2002)(7) which includes the party; or

(ii) there is a disability element or severe disability element (or both) to the tax credit received by the party,

and that the gross annual income taken into account for the calculation of the working tax credit is £16,017 or less.

(2) This article applies to all fees regulated by this Order except–

(a) the fees specified in Part I (Commissary proceedings) of the Table of Fees; and

(b) in Part II (sheriff court proceedings) of the Table of Fees, the fee specified in paragraph 20 (petition for removal of disqualification).”.

(3) The Table of Fees in Schedule 1(8) shall be substituted by–

(a) the Table of Fees in Schedule 1 to this Order on 1st August 2008;

(b) the Table of Fees in Schedule 2 to this Order on 1st April 2009; and

(c) the Table of Fees in Schedule 3 to this Order on 1st April 2010.

KENNY MACASKILL

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

6th June 2008