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Family Solicitors

Legal Aid changes in relation to Private Family Law matters during Covid-19 (23 April 2020)

Date: 23/04/2020
Duncan Lewis, Family Solicitors, Legal Aid changes in relation to Private Family Law matters during Covid-19

Since 1 April 2013 the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 has governed the provisions of obtaining legal aid.

For most children and finance matters in private family law cases, legal aid is only available where you can provide specific evidence in relation to domestic abuse or child protection.

Victims of domestic abuse are particularly vulnerable during the Covid-19 lockdown. Refuge, the UK’s largest domestic abuse charity, has reported calls to its helplines have risen by 25% since lockdown measures began. The Law Society of England and Wales warned that the victims need more protection than ever. For more information and support read here.

During these unprecedented times, you may ask yourself how you can obtain documents to provide to your solicitor to assess you for legal aid.


Flexibility within existing legislation

As of 9 April 2020, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) updated its guidance to make it easier for victims of domestic and child abuse to access legal aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most notably the following changes has been made:


  • The need for evidence to be on letter-headed paper is no longer required. For example if you are providing evidence from:


    1. Domestic abuse support services;

    2. An organisation providing domestic abuse support services – where there has been a refusal of admission to a refuge;

    3. A public authority confirming that you have been assessed as being or that you at risk of being a victim of domestic abuse;

    4. The Home Office specifying that you have been granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a victim of domestic abuse, under Paragraph 289B of the Immigration Rules.

  • Additional evidence types are now allowed to be submitted via email. For example, for offences committed overseas, the LAA will now accept the evidence via email from the relevant law enforcement agency.

  • Solicitors are now able to provide an email documenting that they have spoken to a member of the police and received confirmation that the perpetrator received a caution for a domestic abuse/child abuse offence, or that the perpetrator is involved in ongoing criminal proceeding relating to a domestic abuse/child abuse offence.



At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, being unable to see your lawyer in person is not a problem, we are still available to assist clients by telephone, email and online conferencing and are fully operational remotely.

Legal aid is still available and we can still assess you for your eligibility, providing we are given all the relevant documentation we should be able to secure public funding for your matter.

Author Ozma Hussain is a trainee solicitor in the child care department based in the Luton office working under the supervision of solicitor Farah Khan.

Contact Ozma on 020 727 52662 or at OzmaH@Duncanlewis.com

Contact Farah on 020 7014 7386 or at FarahK@Duncanlewis.com



Duncan Lewis Family and Child Care Department

Duncan Lewis family and child care team continues to be recognised by Legal 500 for our large team which ‘covers a broad range of family cases and excels in children’s cases’. They applaud the department for its notable expertise in representing domestic abuse victims under legal aid and mediation, as well as its handling of public law and cross-border issues concerning children, and the team’s niche Sharia law expertise.

The team has extensive expertise representing vulnerable clients under legal aid, supporting families in care proceedings. Guardians appoint the team to represent children in culturally complex care cases given the firm’s diverse ethnic workforce and experience dealing with vulnerable clients in physical and emotional abuse, drug or alcohol misuse, neglect, factitious illness, rare illness and non-accidental injury matters.

For expert advice on any family and child care matter, please call 0333 772 0409.




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