The Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001

Amendment of the principal Regulations

5.  In regulation 13 (assistance by way of representation requiring approval of the Board) of the principal Regulations–

(a) regulation 13 shall become paragraph (1) of that regulation;

(b) in paragraph (1), after “3(j)” there shall be inserted “, 3(l)”; and

(c) after paragraph (1), there shall be inserted–

“(2) The Board shall only approve the provision of assistance by way of representation in relation to the proceedings described in regulation 3(l) where it is satisfied that–

(a) the case is arguable;

(b) it is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case that assistance by way of representation be made available; and

(c) the case is too complex to allow the applicant to present it to a minimum standard of effectiveness in person.

(3) The factors to be taken into account by the Board in determining whether paragraph (2)(c) above applies shall include–

(a) the determination of the issue may involve procedural difficulty or consideration of a substantial question of law, or of evidence of a complex or difficult nature;

(b) the applicant may be unable to understand the proceedings or to state his own case because of his age, inadequate knowledge of English, mental illness, other mental or physical disability, or otherwise;”.