The Community Legal Service (Financial) Regulations 2000

PART I— GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Community Legal Service (Financial) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st April 2000.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context requires otherwise:

“the Act” means the Access to Justice Act 1999;

“application” means an application to receive funded services, made by or on behalf of a client in accordance with the Funding Code;

“assessing authority” means:

(a)

the Commission, where the client’s eligibility under regulation 5(6) is being assessed;

(b)

otherwise, the supplier;

“certificate” means a certificate issued under the Funding Code certifying a decision to fund services for the client;

“client” means an individual who applies for or receives funded services and, in the case of actual or contemplated proceedings, is a party or prospective party to the proceedings;

“clinical negligence proceedings” means proceedings which include:

(a)

a claim for damages in respect of breach of a duty of care or trespass to the person committed in the course of the provision of clinical or medical services (including dental or nursing services); or

(b)

a claim for damages in respect of alleged professional negligence in the conduct of such a claim;

“Commission” means the Legal Services Commission established under section 1 of the Act;

“CPR” means the Civil Procedure Rules 1998(1), and a reference to a Part or a rule, prefixed by “CPR”, means the Part or rule so numbered in the CPR;

“disposable income” and “disposable capital” mean, respectively, the income and capital of the person concerned, calculated in accordance with regulations 16 to 37;

“family proceedings” means proceedings which arise out of family relationships, including proceedings in which the welfare of children is determined. Family proceedings also include all proceedings under any one or more of the following:

(a)

the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973(2);

(b)

the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975(3);

(c)

the Adoption Act 1976(4);

(d)

the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978(5);

(e)

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984(6);

(f)

Parts I, II and IV of the Children Act 1989(7);

(g)

Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996(8); and

(h)

the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to children.

“Funding Code” means the code approved under section 9 of the Act;

“funded services” means services which are provided directly for a client and funded for that client by the Commission as part of the Community Legal Service under sections 4 to 11 of the Act;

“partner” except in the expression “partner in a business” means a person with whom the person concerned lives as a couple, and includes a person with whom the person concerned is not currently living but from whom he is not living separate and apart;

“personal injury proceedings” means proceedings for damages in respect of death or any disease or impairment of the client’s physical or mental condition, excluding proceedings for clinical negligence;

“person concerned” means the person:

(a)

whose eligibility is to be assessed; or

(b)

whose resources are to be treated as the resources of the client under these Regulations;

“solicitor” means solicitor or other person who is an authorised litigator within the meaning of section 119(1) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990(9); and

“supplier” means the solicitor, mediator or agency being requested to provide or providing funded services to the client.

(2) References to the levels of service listed in paragraph (3) shall be construed as references to the application for, or receipt or provision of, those levels of service in accordance with the Funding Code.

(3) The levels of service referred to in paragraph (2) are:

(a) Legal Help;

(b) Help at Court;

(c) Legal Representation;

(d) Family Mediation;

(e) Help with Mediation;

(f) General Family Help;

(g) Support Funding;

(h) Litigation Support.

(1)

S.I. 1998/3132; as amended by S.I. 1999/1008 and 2000/221.

(2)

1973 c. 18.

(3)

1975 c. 63.

(4)

1976 c. 36.

(5)

1978 c. 22.

(6)

1984 c. 42.

(7)

1989 c. 41.

(8)

1996 c. 27.

(9)

1990 c. 41.