The Community Legal Service (Funding) Order 2007

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Community Legal Service (Funding) Order 2007.

(2) This Order comes into force on 1st October 2007, save that Parts 5 and 8(c) of the Schedule to this Order come into force on 1st January 2008.

Revocation and savings

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Community Legal Service (Funding) Order 2000(1) is revoked.

(2) The Order mentioned in paragraph (1) continues to have effect in relation to—

(a) applications for funded services made before 1st October 2007;

(b) applications for funded services where—

(i) a client is in receipt of General Family Help; and

(ii) the funded services are extended to include Legal Representation after 1st October 2007.

Interpretation

3.—(1) In this Order—

“the Act” means the Access to Justice Act 1999;

“Commission” means the Legal Services Commission established under section 1 of the Act;

“family proceedings” means proceedings, other than proceedings for judicial review, which arise out of family relationships, and includes proceedings in which the welfare of children is determined, and includes all proceedings under one or more of the following—

(a)

the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973(2);

(b)

the Adoption Act 1976(3);

(c)

the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978(4);

(d)

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984(5);

(e)

Parts I to V of the Children Act 1989(6);

(f)

Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996(7);

(g)

the Adoption and Children Act 2002(8);

(h)

the Civil Partnership Act 2004(9); and

(i)

the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to children,

but excludes proceedings under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975(10) and the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996(11);

“funded services” means services which are provided directly to a client and funded for that client by the Commission as part of the Community Legal Service under sections 4 to 11 of the Act;

“Funding Code” means the code approved under section 9 of the Act;

“group litigation” means litigation of a number of claims which give rise to common or related issues of fact or law;

“supplier” means a party to the Unified Contract other than the Commission;

“Unified Contract” means the contract between the Commission and a supplier for the provision of funded services which consists of the contract document, the schedule, the contract standard terms and the specification(12).

(2) References to the levels of service “General Family Help”, “Family Help (Lower)”, “Legal Help”, “Help at Court” and “Legal Representation” shall be construed as references to the receipt or provision of those levels of service granted in accordance with the Funding Code.

Funding of Services – direct payments

4.  The Commission may only fund services under section 6(3)(b) or (e) of the Act where authorisation for such funding has been given in an individual case under section 6(8)(b) of the Act.

Remuneration under contracts

5.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies to contracts which have been awarded otherwise than—

(a) after competitive tendering as to price has taken place;

(b) in relation to a particular case (including group litigation or potential group litigation);

(c) as part of any pilot which provides for remuneration by way of one or more standard fees; or

(d) as part of the Community Legal Advice Centres and Community Legal Advice Networks set up by the Commission.

(2) Any contract for the provision of funded services under section 6(3) of the Act—

(a) will provide for payment by the Commission at the fees and hourly rates set out in the Schedule to this Order; and

(b) may provide for a percentage enhancement to the hourly rates set out in the Schedule to this Order, provided that the percentage enhancement must not exceed—

(i) 200% for non family proceedings in the High Court, Court of Appeal or House of Lords; and

(ii) 100% for all other proceedings.

6.  Where under section 6(3) of the Act the Commission enters a contract that provides for the court to assess remuneration payable by the Commission, the court must assess the remuneration in accordance with the contract.

Foreign law

7.  The Commission may fund Legal Help relating to the preparation of applications for transmission under the provision of the European Agreement on the Transmission of Applications for Legal Aid and under Council Directive 2003/8/EC of 27th January 2003(13).

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Bridget Prentice

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Ministry of Justice

9th August 2007