Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations replace, with amendments, the Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1980 (as subsequently amended). These Regulations, together with the Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989, govern the provision of representation under Part IV of the Legal Aid Act 1988 (legal aid in civil proceedings).
These Regulations make provision for the assessment of the financial resources of the person concerned in order to determine eligibility to receive legal aid and to assess the maximum contribution payable towards the cost of providing representation in the proceedings in respect of which the legal aid application is made.
The main changes made are as follows:
the income and capital eligibility limits (which determine whether a person is eligible to receive legal aid and provide the financial limits above which a contribution is to be payable) are set out in the Regulations and not in the Act (regulation 4);
the resources of persons living together as husband and wife are to be treated as if those persons were married (regulation 7(3)).