Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Civil Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1989 so as to—

(a)

increase the income limit for non-contributory civil legal aid from £2,563 to £2,625; the upper income limit is increased from £7,595 to £7,777; for personal injury cases the upper income limit is increased from £8,370 to £8,571 (regulation 2);

(b)

make further provision for a deduction to be made for a dependent child or a dependent relative aged 19 or over when computing the income of a person during the assessment of his resources in respect of an application for legal aid (regulation 4);

(c)

change the definition of pensionable age for a man from 65 to 60 in Schedule 2 to the 1989 Regulations; this relates to the amount of capital which may be disregarded for pensioners on low incomes during the computation of their capital for a legal aid application (regulation 6); and

(d)

make other minor amendments (regulations 3 and 5).