The Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) Regulations 1988

Made: 8th March 1988

Laid before Parliament: 9th March 1988

Coming into force: 11th April 1988

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 6, 9(2), 20 and 25 of the Legal Aid Act 1974[^f00001], hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Financial Conditions) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 11th April 1988.

• (2) In these Regulations, “the Act” means the Legal Aid Act 1974.

• (3) The Regulations specified in the first column of the Schedule shall be revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

2

For the yearly sum of £5585 specified in section 6(1) of the Act, there shall be substituted the sum of £5765.

3

For the capital sum of £4850 specified in section 6(1)(a) of the Act, there shall be substituted the sum of £5000.

4

For the yearly sum of £2325 specified in section 9(1)(a) of the Act[^f00002], there shall be substituted the yearly sum of £2400.

SCHEDULE

Signed

Mackay of Clashfern, C. — Dated 8th March 1988

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations increase the financial limits of eligibility for legal aid under Part I of the Legal Aid Act 1974.

The income limits are increased to make legal aid available to those with disposable incomes of not more than £5765 a year and available without payment of a contribution to those with disposable incomes of £2400 a year or less.

The upper limit of disposable capital, above which legal aid may be refused if it appears that the applicant could afford to proceed without legal aid, is increased to £5000. No change is made to the lower limit of disposable capital of £3000, below which no contribution in respect of capital may be required.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1974 c. 4; section 6 was amended by the Legal Aid Act 1979 (c. 26), Schedule 1, paragraph 12 and by S.I. 1987/628; section 9 (2) was amended by the Legal Aid Act 1979 (c. 26), Schedule 1, paragraph 13; section 20 was amended by the Legal Aid Act 1979 (c. 26), section 4(2), by the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (c. 27), section 40(1) and by the Legal Aid Act 1982 (c. 44), sections 1, 16; section 25 is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meaning assigned to te word “regulations”.

[^f00002]: Section 9(1)(a) was amended by S.I. 1987/628.