(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend existing legal aid regulations so that payments made to a person by way of (a) carer’s allowance supplement under section 81 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and (b) a care experienced students bursary under regulation 3 of the Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022 (“the payments”) are to be disregarded by the Scottish Legal Aid Board in the assessment and computation of that person’s disposable capital and income.
Regulation 2 amends the Advice and Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 1996 to disregard the payments for the purposes of advice and assistance. It also excludes the payments from bearing fees and outlays when forming part of any recovered or preserved property in proceedings.
Regulation 3 amends the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 to make equivalent provision for the purposes of civil legal aid.
Regulation 4 amends the Children’s Legal Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 2013 to disregard the payments for the purposes of children’s legal aid.
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.