The Children’s Legal Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 2013

Power of Board to suspend availability of children’s legal aid

29.—(1) The Board may suspend for a period of up to 90 days the availability of children’s legal aid to an assisted person (and, in that event, must notify the assisted person in terms of regulation 19 (notification of decision) where satisfied that—

(a) the assisted person has without reasonable cause failed—

(i) to comply with any condition, whether a requirement of the grant of children’s legal aid by virtue of section 28G of the Act and regulation 22(2) (duty to report changes of circumstances), or whether modified or newly imposed in terms of that section and regulation 27 (Board’s power to modify conditions etc); or

(ii) to pay by the due date any contribution, or any instalment of a contribution, required in terms of section 28K of the Act(1);

(b) it requires to consider whether in any case information which it has received regarding any of the grounds specified in regulations 30 (termination on change), 31 (termination other than on change of circumstances) and regulation 33 (false information) merits termination of children’s legal aid; or

(c) the solicitor nominated to act for the assisted person has ceased so to act.

(2) At the end of the period referred to in paragraph (1) the Board must—

(a) make children’s legal aid available again to the assisted person;

(b) suspend the availability of children’s legal aid to the assisted person for one further period of up to 90 days; or

(c) cease to make such children’s legal aid available to the assisted person in terms of regulations 30, 31 and 33.

(1)

Section 28K was inserted by section 191 of the 2011 Act.