The Sheriff Appeal Court Fees Order 2015

Exemption of certain persons from fees

3.—(1) A fee provided for by this Order is not payable by a person if—

(a) the person or the person’s partner is in receipt of income support under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1);

(b) the person is in receipt of an income-based jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995(2);

(c) the person is in receipt of universal credit under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012(3);

(d) the person is in receipt of civil legal aid within the meaning of section 13(2) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986(4) in respect of the matter in the Table of Fees in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 in connection with which the fee is payable;

(e) the fee is payable in connection with a simplified divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership application and the person is in receipt of advice and assistance from a solicitor under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 in respect of that application;

(f) the person’s solicitor is undertaking work in relation to the matter in the Table of Fees in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 in connection with which the fee is payable on the basis of any regulations made under section 36 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 providing for legal aid in a matter of special urgency;

(g) the person or the person’s partner is in receipt of guarantee credit under the State Pension Credit Act 2002(5);

(h) the person or the person’s partner is in receipt of working tax credit, provided that—

(i) child tax credit is being paid to the party, or otherwise following a claim for child tax credit made jointly by the members of a couple (as defined in section 3(5A) of the Tax Credits Act 2002(6)) which includes the party; or

(ii) there is a disability element or severe disability element (or both) to the tax credit received by the party;

and that the gross annual income taken into account for the calculation of the working tax credit is £16,642 or less; or

(i) the person or the person’s partner is in receipt of income-related employment and support allowance under the Welfare Reform Act 2007(7).

(2) In this article “partner” means a person to whom a person is married or with whom the person is in a civil partnership.

(1)

1992 c.4. Section 124, which provides for income support, was amended by the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18), section 41 and Schedules 2 and 3; the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30), section 70 and Schedule 8, Part IV, paragraph 28; the State Pension Credit Act 2002 (c.16), Schedules 2 and 3; the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c.33), Schedule 24; the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c.5), Schedules 3 and 8; the Welfare Reform Act 2009 (c.24), section 3; and the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c.5), Schedule 14.

(2)

1995 c.18.

(3)

2012 c.5.

(4)

1986 c.47. Section 13(2) was amended by the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (c.40), section 74 and Schedule 8, paragraph 36(3).

(5)

2002 c.16.

(6)

2002 c.21. Section 3(5A) was substituted for section 3(5) to (6) by the Civil Partnership Act 2004, Schedule 24, paragraph 144(3).

(7)

2007 c.5.