Legal Aid

About legal aid

The government provides funding for legal aid to help people:

  • protect their basic rights and get a fair hearing
  • access the court process to sort out disputes
  • solve problems that contribute to social exclusion.

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) runs the legal aid scheme in England and Wales. Their work is overseen by the Ministry of Justiceand the annual legal budget is set by the Treasury.

The Legal Services Commission fund solicitors and advice agencies to:

  • advise people on their legal problems (such as family breakdown, debt and eviction)
  • help people understand their rights and the law
  • if necessary represent people in court.

You can apply for civil legal aid from legal advisers who belong to the Community Legal Service. These advisers have met LSC quality standards and have a contract with the LSC to provide legal aid services.

You can find your nearest adviser by going to the Community Legal Service Direct website and clicking their link to "Find an Advisor".

www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk

You can get an approximate idea of your eligibility for legal aid by using the Legal Aid Calculator on the Community Legal Advice website.

Testing eligibility for civil legal aid

The LSC awards civil legal aid to those who meet certain conditions:

  • financial means
  • legal merits tests laid down by parliament.

The Funding Code sets out the help that LSC can provide and the requirements that you need to meet.

Financial eligibility tests look at a client’s income and capital. The legal merits test looks at factors such as the case’s likelihood of success.

For more information on the civil legal aid eligibility go to Civil legal aid eligibility

Contributing to the cost of your legal aid

A person may be asked to pay some of the costs of their case. This is means-tested.

If a person wins money or property in a civil case, they may be asked to repay some of their legal costs. This is called the statutory charge.

If they do not have the means to pay immediately, they can:

  • arrange to pay it in instalments

  • lments over time
  • opt for the statutory charge to be placed on the property (which means the money can be reclaimed when the property is sold or becomes part of an estate after their death).

Read the statutory charge leaflet on the Legal aid information leaflets page for more information.

For more information

Visit the How to find legal information and help page to learn more about legal advice services.