Legal Aid

What is legal aid?

Legal aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who can't afford it.

In England and Wales, the Community Legal Service (CLS), which is funded by government, provides legal aid for civil problems. The Criminal Defence Service (CDS) uses criminal legal aid to help people who are under investigation or facing criminal charges.

What sort of problems can I get legal aid for?

You can get legal aid for many types of civil legal problems. These are where you have a dispute with a person, company or other organisation, such as a local authority. It could be do with your home, your relationships or your money.

If you live on a low income or benefits, CLS Direct also provides free, independent and confidential advice about debt, education, benefits and tax credits, employment and housing problems.

You can also get free advice and help if you are questioned by the police, whether you have been arrested or not. You may also be able to get free legal help if you have to go to court. For more information about your rights and criminal legal aid, see the separate fact sheet on Your Legal Rights or visit www.legalservices.gov.uk.

The rest of this fact sheet deals with civil legal aid.

What does legal aid pay for?

Civil legal aid can fund:

initial advice and help with your legal problem
a solicitor to speak on your behalf at court without formally representing you
help and advice on family disputes, including help with family mediation
legal representation in court proceedings.

What is not covered by legal aid?

You can't receive legal aid for cases heard in the Employment, Immigration or Lands Tribunals. And you can't normally get legal aid for the following types of case:

personal injury
negligent damage to property
conveyancing
boundary disputes
making a will
trust law
libel, slander or malicious falsehood
company or partnership law
problems to do with a business or
attending an interview for an asylum claim.

Who can get legal aid?

In most cases, you must be "financially eligible" to get legal aid. This will depend on your disposable income (money you have left after paying all your living expenses) and your disposable capital (money, investments or property you could use or sell to pay for legal help). The disposable income and capital of your partner or spouse will also be taken into account.

You will not be financially eligible if your gross income (income before tax) was more than £2,435 in the last month or you have more than £8,000 in disposable capital. You can find out if you are likely to be eligible with the online legal aid calculator at clsdirect.org.uk.

There is also a "merits test". This will look at your case to get an idea of the chances of success and whether it is likely to win more than it costs.

Normally your legal aid application will be dealt with in two weeks, although in some special cases you can get emergency legal representation sooner than this.

What if I can't get legal aid?

If you're not eligible for legal aid there are other options. You may be able to get free advice from a legal advice or law centre, or you may be able to get a conditional-fee agreement (often called "no win, no fee"). Or you may have a legal expenses insurance policy or be a member of a trade union that could help.

Will I have to pay anything?

If you are granted legal aid, your solicitor or adviser will be paid directly. You may still have to pay some of the costs though, depending on your financial situation and your case. This could be through:

a lump sum ("capital contribution")
monthly instalments until your case finishes ("income contribution")
repaying costs if you receive or keep money or property by winning your case ("statutory charge").

The amount of legal aid you get may change during your case if your financial situation changes or if you don't give all the information your adviser asks for. If you give false information about your finances and your legal aid is cancelled, you may have to repay all the money spent on your case.

What if my problem isn't in England or Wales?

There are separate schemes for legal aid in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, contact the Scottish Legal Aid Board on 0131 226 7061 or slab.org.uk.

In Northern Ireland, contact the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission on 028 9040 8888 or nilsc.org.uk.

If your problem is in another European country, the CLS may be able to help you apply for legal aid. Contact the CLS on 020 7718 8054 to see if it can help.

For other countries, you should contact the embassy or consulate of that country. However, each country has its own rules on legal aid and the decision will be up to them, not the CLS.

This fact sheet will give you some basic information about legal aid illness. You can also listen to it online or download it onto an MP3 player.

Please be aware that this is not legal advice and if you are concerned about any of the issues mentioned you should speak to a lawyer.

You can contact Russell Jones & Walker's solicitors at enquiries@rjw.co.uk.