Legal aid covers all persons detained at the Police Station and is free of charge for a legal representative to attend your interview.

 

If you are charged with a criminal offence and have to appear at court there are two tests before legal aid can be granted:

 

a)   Is it in interest of justice for you to receive legal aid?  This is largely based on the seriousness of the offence itself and also your particular circumstances. Minor offences and most traffic offences (unless they are particularly serious) will not be covered but most other offences would be.

 

b)   Financial eligibility based on your means.  Generally speaking if your income, to include the income of any partner, is less than £12,475 per annum before tax (£240 a week) you would be eligible. You would also be eligible if you are in receipt of ‘passported benefits’ such as Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance or ESA. If your income is above these levels you may well still be eligible if you have dependants or particular outgoings. This can be a complicated subject and we will guide you through it. You can also look up the eligibility calculator at www.legalservices.gov.uk.

 

You will be required in most cases to provide documentary evidence of your income and expenditure as well as your National Insurance number.

 

Legal aid has unfortunately been abolished in most cases for divorce and children law (except where domestic violence is involved) and we no longer offer legal aid for this type of work.