Following on from my previous blog it has now been confirmed by the Court of Appeal that the 24 month time limit imposed by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) is invalid.
LASPO was introduced in April 2013 and resulted in the majority of people who had previously been eligible to receive Legal Aid no longer being eligible. The Act was created with a view to ensuring that victims of domestic abuse were still eligible to receive Legal Aid. This would allow them access to a Family Lawyer to represent them within the family court so that they were not left to face the perpetrator of the abuse alone.
The Act was considered to be flawed from the outset by Lawyers, those working with victims of domestic abuse and the victims of domestic abuse themselves. This is as a result of the very strict evidence requirements which had to be complied with before Legal Aid could be granted.
There are currently 15 prescribed formats of evidence of domestic abuse set out within LASPO which can be used to prove eligibility to receive Legal Aid. Of these 15 formats, only two of them are not date limited to the last 24 month period.
Now that the Court of Appeal has declared that the 2 year time period is invalid, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that it will “carefully reconsider the domestic violence evidence requirements”. Until such time as any amendments are made to the requirements, Family Lawyers will only be able to continue to grant Legal Aid based on the existing requirements and subject to the 24 month time limit. It is unlikely that any changes will be introduced in the short term.
The Act was intended to protect all victims of Domestic Abuse. Domestic abuse is not just physical violence. It is any behaviour which a party to a relationship uses in an attempt to control the other party or the children of the family. Whilst physical abuse is often used as a means to control the victim, the abuse can also extend to verbal abuse, threatening behaviour, harassment, stalking, coercive and other means of controlling behaviour including financial control.
Up until now, LASPO has not recognised that Financial Abuse falls within the scope of Domestic Abuse. The Court of Appeal has also stated that this is inappropriate.
Whilst the ruling will be considered a small victory by most Family Lawyers and Professionals working within the domestic abuse sector, there is still a long way to go to ensure that those who are most vulnerable in society are entitled to justice. Many victims of domestic abuse will still continue to be ineligible to receive public funding because sadly, around 70% of domestic abuse remains unreported. There are no further proposed changes to LASPO which will ensure that these victims are protected.
At Taylor&Emmet we have a specialist Family Law Department with a Legal Aid Contract. We offer a free Legal Aid assessment. If you wish to enquire about your eligibility, please call us on 0114 218 4000.
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