The Criminal Defence Service (Financial Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Defence Service (Financial Eligibility) (Amendment) Regulations 2009.

(2) This regulation and regulations 2, 3, and 5 to 8 come into force on 11th January 2010.

(3) Regulation 4 comes into force—

(a) in relation to any magistrates’ court in any of the local justice areas listed in the first part of the Schedule to these Regulations, on 11th January 2010; and

(b) in relation to any other magistrates’ court in any of the courts board areas listed—

(i) in the second part of that table, on 12th April 2010;

(ii) in the third part of that table, on 26th April 2010;

(iii) in the fourth part of that table, on 10th May 2010;

(iv) in the fifth part of that table, on 17th May 2010;

(v) in the sixth part of that table, on 24th May 2010;

(vi) in the seventh part of that table, on 14th June 2010;

(vii) in the eighth part of that table, on 28th June 2010.

(4) Regulation 4 applies only to proceedings in which an individual is committed for sentence by a magistrates’ court on or after the date on which that regulation comes into force in respect of that court.

Amendment to the Criminal Defence Service (Financial Eligibility) Regulations 2006

2.  The Criminal Defence Service (Financial Eligibility) Regulations 2006(1) are amended as follows.

3.  In regulation 2—

(a) in the definition of “child care costs”—

(i) after “registered under” insert “Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006(2) or”;

(ii) for “or any of them is” substitute “or both of them is or are”;

(iii) after “home” insert “and in this definition “relative” means a grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or first cousin, whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership;”;

(b) in the definition of “gross annual income”, after “disablement pension” insert—

“(va) housing benefit”.

4.  For regulation 3 substitute—

“3.   These Regulations apply to—

(a) those criminal proceedings which—

(i) are referred to in section 12(2)(a) to (f) of the Act and in regulation 3(2) (other than sub-paragraph (h)) of the Criminal Defence Service (General) (No. 2) Regulations 2001(3); and

(ii) are in a magistrates’ court; and

(b) criminal proceedings in which the individual—

(i) has been committed to the Crown Court for sentence; and

(ii) did not apply for, or was not granted, a representation order in a magistrates’ court.”.

5.  In regulation 5(3) for “directly or indirectly” substitute “, directly or indirectly, properly”.

6.  In regulation 7(2)—

(a) in paragraph (a) omit “or is likely to be”;

(b) in paragraph (b) omit “or are likely to be”;

(c) for the words from “resources of that” to the end substitute “maintenance or the resources made available and may treat the amount as the resources of the individual”.

7.  In regulation 10—

(a) in paragraph (2), after “annual income” insert “(without adjustment under regulation 9(1))”;

(b) in paragraph (2)(d)(i) omit “, less any housing benefit paid under the Social Security Benefits and Contributions Act 1992”;

(c) for paragraph (2)(f) substitute—

“(f) if the individual is making payments for the maintenance of a former partner or of a child or a relative who is not (in such case) a member of the individual’s household, the amount, where reasonable, of such payments paid or payable in respect of the period of calculation;

and in this sub-paragraph “relative” means a parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece or first cousin, whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership;”.

8.  Omit regulation 11(1)(b) and the word “and” immediately preceding it.

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Bach

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Ministry of Justice

27th October 2009