The Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend existing legal aid regulations in Scotland in connection with the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 (“the 2021 Act”), which establishes a financial redress scheme for survivors of historical childhood abuse in certain residential care settings in Scotland.

Regulations 2 and 3 amend respectively the Advice and Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 1996 and the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002, to provide that payments made under Part 4 (redress payments) of the 2021 Act and certain other payments not covered by the statutory financial redress scheme are disregarded by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (“SLAB”) in the assessment and computation of an applicant’s disposable capital and income in respect of payment of advice and assistance and civil legal aid. Both regulations also exclude such payments from bearing fees and outlays when forming part of any recovered or preserved property in proceedings.

Regulation 4 amends the Children’s Legal Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 2013, to provide that payments made under Part 4 of the 2021 Act and certain other payments not covered by the statutory financial redress scheme are to be disregarded by SLAB in the assessment and computation of an applicant’s disposable capital in respect of payment of children’s legal assistance.

Regulation 5 amends the Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, to correct an incorrect reference to Regulations.

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared for these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from the Scottish Government Justice Directorate, St Andrews House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.