2015 No. 1414
The Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) (Amendment) Regulations 2015
Approved by both Houses of Parliament
Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 11(1)(b) and 41(1)(a) and (b) and (2)(b) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 20121 (“the Act”), makes the following Regulations.
In making these Regulations, in accordance with section 11(2) to (5) of the Act, the Lord Chancellor—
has considered the circumstances in which it is appropriate to make civil legal services available under Part 1 of the Act and, in particular, the extent to which the criteria ought to reflect the factors set out in section 11(3) of the Act;
has sought to secure that, in cases in which more than one form of civil legal service could be provided for an individual, the individual qualifies under Part 1 of the Act for the form of service which in all the circumstances is most appropriate having regard to the criteria; and
is satisfied that the criteria reflect the principle that, in many disputes, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution are more appropriate than legal proceedings.
In accordance with section 41(8) of the Act, the Lord Chancellor considers that it is desirable for these Regulations to come into force without delay for the reasons given in the statement laid before Parliament with these Regulations.