HL Deb 21 March 1983 vol 440 cc996-8WA
Viscount Colville of Culross

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether it is yet able to make a further statement about its proposals for simplifying the assessment rules relating to legal aid.

The Lord Chancellor

Regulations have been laid before the House to amend the Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1980 and the Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1980, to give effect to a number of further useful simplifications of the legal aid assessment rules. The principal changes involved are (i) the abolition of the rule allowing the disregard of the first £4 a week of unearned income; (ii) a relaxation of the rule governing reassessments so that in future a reassessment of an assisted person's income will only be made if the assisted person's income appears to have increased by more than £500 or decreased by more than £250 and a reassessment appears likely to lead to a significant change in the contribution payable; and (iii) a parlial disaggregation of parents' and child's resources so that only the resources of these with whom a child lives and who are responsible in law for his or her maintenance will be aggregated with the child's resources.

Regulations already laid before the House to amend the financial limits for legal aid and advice include an increase in the legal aid lower capital limit to align it with the Supplementary Benefit limit of £2,500. These changes were all recommended by the Legal Aid Advisory Committee in its 32nd Annual Report published on 22nd February this year; and represent a further step in the Government's continuing efforts to simplify the assessment process.

I am aware of a number of other specific proposals which have been suggested, all of which have been considered by my Committee on Legal Aid. I have studied these. I agree with the conclusions of the Advisory Committee as indicated in its 32nd Annual Report.