What Is Legal Aid?
‘What is Legal Aid and am I eligible?’ Family Law Solicitor Melissa Knight discusses in her latest blog…
Can I Get Free Legal Advice When My Child Has Social Work Involvement?
You may have heard of the terms ‘legal aid’ or ‘public funding’. The rules in respect of who will be eligible for legal aid are governed by a government department called the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).
Care Proceedings
If the Local Authority has made an application for a care order or supervision order, then the Legal Aid Agency will automatically grant legal aid to the parent and the child to which the care proceedings relate. In addition, if anybody else shares parental responsibility for the child at the time the proceedings are issued then they too will be entitled to legal aid. This means that you will not have to pay for the advice and representation that your solicitor provides to you. You will need to contact a solicitor as soon as possible so that they can make the application for legal aid on your behalf. They will be able to accept the paperwork on your behalf and tell the Judge what you want to happen during Court hearings.
PLO / Pre-Proceedings Level
If the Local Authority have invited you to a pre-proceedings meeting (sometimes known as a PLO meeting) then anybody who has parental responsibility is entitled to free legal advice to assist them with representation at the PLO meetings. You must have evidence that the Local Authority has concerns about your child which are detailed on a letter usually called a PLO or Letter before Proceedings.
Discharge Of Care Order / Revocation Of Placement Order Proceedings
If you are hoping to make an application to discharge an existing care or placement order then you will not automatically be entitled to free legal aid. In this scenario, you would need to speak to a solicitor in order for them to carry out what is known as a means and merit test to assess your eligibility.
Your solicitor would need to make an application to the Legal Aid Agency providing information about your case, any change of circumstances since the original order was made and what your position is. The Legal Aid Agency would also need to assess your financial situation and you would need to provide evidence of your financial circumstances in order for the Legal Aid Agency to determine whether you are eligible for funding. Once all the information has been provided to the Legal Aid Agency, your solicitor will contact you once a decision is made.
Other Family Members
In care proceedings, assessments are often completed of family members to see whether they are a safe option for the children to live with on a short, medium or long-term basis. There is usually a short assessment completed first and if that is positive then a more in-depth assessment will be completed. In the event that these assessments are negative, then unfortunately the family members are not automatically entitled to legal aid in care proceedings. If they are made a party to the proceedings however, then they may be entitled to legal aid.
In these sorts of situations, this can leave family members in a vulnerable position if they cannot afford to pay for independent legal advice and do not agree with the reasons why the social worker has concluded that they are unsuitable carers. Some local universities offer free legal clinics whereby students studying Law are able to help individuals with making applications to challenge the outcome of these assessments in these scenarios. It is always best for family members to try and get some independent legal advice from a specialist in this area and therefore if you are a family member in this position then we can assess your circumstances and provide advice in this area including a determination about whether you are likely to be eligible to legal aid. There are some local authorities which will also fund a one off appointment with a solicitor for family members who have been positively assessed to provide advice and guidance about the proposed final orders being sought.
If you require more information regarding legal aid please visit https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid or if we can assist you in any way to determine whether you are eligible for free legal advice, then please get in touch with us at legal@timms-law.com and our team will be happy to help. Alternatively you can visit the Family Law section of our website here.
January 2023