Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Made3rd March 2005

To be laid before Parliament

Coming into operation11th April 2005

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 9(2), 12(2), 22 and 27 of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 19811 and now vested in him2, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 11th April 2005.

2

In these Regulations –

a

“the Order” means the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;

b

“personal injuries” includes any death and any disease or other impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition.

Saving and revocation2

1

These Regulations shall apply to any application for legal aid where the period of computation, as defined in Regulation 1(2) of the Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19813, begins on or after 11th April 2005.

2

The Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 20044 are hereby revoked save in their application to any case to which paragraph (1) does not apply.

Persons eligible for legal aid3

For the yearly sums specified in Article 9(1) of the Order5 there shall be substituted –

a

where legal aid is sought in connection with taking, defending or being a party to proceedings which include a claim in respect of personal injuries, for the yearly sum of “£9,475”, the yearly sum of “£9,570”; and

b

in any other case, for the yearly sum of “£8,595”, the yearly sum of “£8,681”.

Contributions from persons receiving legal aid4

For the yearly sum of “£2,902” specified in Article 12(1)(a) of the Order6 there shall be substituted the yearly sum of “£2,931”.

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Baroness AshtonParliamentary Under-Secretary of State,Department for Constitutional AffairsDated 3rd March 2005

(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 aid available to those with disposable incomes of not more than £8,681 (instead of £8,595), or in connection with proceedings involving a personal injury £9,570 (instead of £9,475) (Regulation 3);

b

increase the lower income limit below which legal aid is available without payment of a contribution to £2,931 (instead of £2,902) (Regulation 4).

No changes are made to the capital limits.