Access to Justice Act 1999

6 Services which may be funded

(1) The Commission shall set priorities in its funding of services as part of the Community Legal Service and the priorities shall be set—

(a) in accordance with any directions given by the Lord Chancellor, and

(b) after taking into account the need for services of the descriptions specified in section 4(2).

(2) Subject to that (and to subsection (6)), the services which the Commission may fund as part of the Community Legal Service are those which the Commission considers appropriate.

(3) The Commission may fund services as part of the Community Legal Service by—

(a) entering into contracts with persons or bodies for the provision of services by them,

(b) making payments to persons or bodies in respect of the provision of services by them,

(c) making grants or loans to persons or bodies to enable them to provide, or facilitate the provision of, services,

(d) establishing and maintaining bodies to provide, or facilitate the provision of, services,

(e) making grants or loans to individuals to enable them to obtain services,

(f) itself providing services, or

(g) doing anything else which it considers appropriate for funding services.

(4) The Lord Chancellor may by order require the Commission to discharge the function in subsection (3) in accordance with the order.

(5) The Commission may fund as part of the Community Legal Service different descriptions of services or services provided by different means—

(a) in relation to different areas or communities in England and Wales, and

(b) in relation to different descriptions of cases.

(6) The Commission may not fund as part of the Community Legal Service any of the services specified in Schedule 2.

(7) Regulations may amend that Schedule by adding new services or omitting or varying any services.

(8) The Lord Chancellor—

(a) may by direction require the Commission to fund the provision of any of the services specified in Schedule 2 in circumstances specified in the direction, and

(b) may authorise the Commission to fund the provision of any of those services in specified circumstances or, if the Commission request him to do so, in an individual case.

(9) The Lord Chancellor shall either—

(a) publish, or

(b) require the Commission to publish,

any authorisation under subsection (8)(b) unless it relates to an individual case (in which case he or the Commission may publish it if appropriate).