The Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2014

Amendments to the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013

2.—(1) The Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 5 (exceptions from requirement to make a determination in respect of an individual’s financial resources)—

(a) in paragraph (1), after sub-paragraph (ga), insert—

“(gb) such family mediation as is the relevant mediation session for an individual (“A”) in relation to any matter described in paragraph 14(1) (mediation in family disputes) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act if—

(i) A is a party to the relevant mediation session; and

(ii) the Director has made a determination that the financial resources of another individual who is a party to that session (“B”) are such that B is eligible, for that session, for such family mediation as is a relevant mediation session;” and

(b) in paragraph (2), after the definition of “mediator”, insert—

““relevant mediation session” means the acting of a mediator at a mediation session (“the session”) which is held on or after 3rd November 2014 and—

(a)

the session is a single session taking place following a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting; or

(b)

where the session is part of a multi session, the session is the initial mediation session taking place following a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting,

and for the purposes of this definition, “single session” and “multi session” have the same meanings as in the contract named the Standard Civil Contract 2010 between the Lord Chancellor and a provider of civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act..”.

(3) In regulation 27 (deductions in respect of employment expenses and child care costs), after paragraph (2), insert—

“(3) Where the income of the individual consists, wholly or partly, of study-related income, there must be deducted, where it would be reasonable to do so, an amount to provide for the care of any dependent child living with the individual during the time that individual is absent from home by reason of their course of study.

(4) In this regulation, the “study-related income” of an individual means income consisting of a—

(a) student loan;

(b) student grant; or

(c) other income received from a person who is not a partner or relative of the individual,

and the purpose of the income is to support the individual’s course of study.”.

(1)

S.I. 2013/480, amended by S.I. 2013/753 and 2014/812; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.