SI 2025/1248 - The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 2025 No. 1248 LEGAL AID AND ADVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 Made - - - - 27th November 2025 Laid before Parliament 1st December 2025 22nd December Coming into force - - 2025 The Lord Chancellor makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 2(3), 12(2) and 41(1)(a) and (b), (2)(a) and (3)(c) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012(1).

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration)

(Amendment) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 22nd December 2025.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

Amendments to the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012

2. Regulation 14 (Duty Scheme) of the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012(2) is amended as follows—

(a) for the heading substitute “Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (a)—

(i)for “Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme,” substitute “Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service”, and

(ii)for “2013” substitute “2024”;

(c) in sub-paragraph (b), for “2013” substitute “2024”.

(1) 2012 c. 10.

(2) S.I. 2012/3098; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2023/147.Document Generated: 2025-12-22

Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

Amendments to the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013

3.—(1) Schedule 1 to the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013(3) is amended as follows.

(2) In Part 1 (Civil Standard Fees)—

(a) for paragraph (2) substitute— “2. The fees in Table 1 for Housing do not apply to the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. The fees for that service are contained in Table 6(a) in this Part.”;

(b) in paragraph 3, in Table 1, in the fourth row (Debt)—

(i)in the second column (Standard Fee), for £180 substitute £256, and

(ii)in the third column (Escape Fee Threshold), for £540 substitute £768;

(c) in paragraph 3, in Table 1, in the sixth row (Housing)—

(i)in the second column (Standard Fee), for £157 substitute £223, and

(ii)in the third column (Escape Fee Threshold), for £471 substitute £669;

(d) for Table 4(a) substitute— Table 4(a): Immigration and Asylum Standard Fees Immigration and Asylum Type of matter Stage 1 (legal help) Stage 2a Stage 2b (controlled legal (controlled legal representation) representation) Asylum £559 £274 £685 Immigration – non £317 £274 £549 asylum

(e) for Table 4(aa) substitute— Table 4(aa): Immigration and Asylum Standard Fees – online system appeals

Immigration and Asylum: online procedure appeals Type of matter Stage 2d (appeals without Stage 2e (appeals with a a hearing) hearing) Asylum £808 £1,219 Immigration – non asylum £759 £1,033

(f) in Table 4(b) (Additional Payment – UKVI Interview), for “£266” substitute “£360”;

(g) in Table 4(ba) (Additional Payment – National Referral Mechanism), for “£150” substitute “£203”;

(h) for Table 4(c) substitute—

(3) S.I. 2013/422, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2013/2877, S.I. 2015/325, S.I. 2020/1001, S.I. 2022/1379, S.I. 2023/147 and S.I. 2024/889.

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Table 4(c): Additional Payments for Advocacy (including Online Procedure Advocacy) Services Activity Advocacy Services Standard Fee Oral Case Management Review Hearing £183 Telephone Case Management Review £99 Hearing Substantive Hearing in the Immigration and Asylum - £332 Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal Substantive Hearing in the Immigration and Immigration - £261 Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal Additional Day Substantive Hearing Asylum - £177 Immigration - £177

(i) omit Table 4(ca);

(j) for Table 4(d) substitute— Table 4(d): Immigration Removal Centres Standard Fees (for Exclusive Schedule Holders only) On Site Surgery – advising 5 or more clients £497 On Site Surgery – advising 4 clients or £249 fewer Standby Payment £47

(k) omit Table 6;

(l) for Table 6(a) substitute— Table 6(a): Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) Activity Standard Fee Escape Fee Threshold

HLPAS Stage One: early £223 £669 legal advice

HLPAS Stage Two: in-court £108 (London rate) N/A duty scheme £102 (Non-London rate)

(3) In Part 2 (Hourly Rates - Controlled Work)—

(a) for the heading in Table 7(a) substitute “Mental Health, Claims Against Public Authorities, Public Law, Education and Community Care”;

(b) after Table 7(a) insert— 3Document Generated: 2025-12-22

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Table 7(aa): Immigration and Asylum and Housing and Debt Activity London Rate Non-London Rate Preparation, Attendance and £69.30 per hour £65.35 per hour Advocacy Travel and Waiting Time £34.65 per hour £32.70 per hour Routine Letters Out and £5.35 per item £5.20 per item Telephone Calls

(c) for the heading in Table 7(b), substitute “Family and Miscellaneous (employment)”;

(d) for the heading of Table 7(c), substitute “Family help (lower) and related legal help in relation to section 31 of the Children Act 1989”;

(e) omit Table 7(d);

(f) for Table 8(a) substitute— Table 8(a): Immigration and Asylum - Escape Fee Cases Controlled Legal Representation Activity London Rate Non-London Rate Preparation and Attendance £69.30 per hour £65.35 per hour Travel and Waiting Time £34.65 per hour £32.70 per hour Routine Letters Out and £5.35 per item £5.20 per item Telephone Calls Advocacy £72.35 per hour £72.35 per hour

(g) for Table 8(c) substitute— Table 8(c): Controlled Legal Representation — Immigration and Asylum hourly rates cases Activity London Rate Non-London Rate Preparation and Attendance £69.30 per hour £65.35 per hour Travel and Waiting Time £34.65 per hour £32.70 per hour Routine Letters Out and £5.35 per item £5.20 per item Telephone Calls Advocacy £69.30 per hour £68.90 per hour Saving provision in relation to regulation 3

4.—(1) The amendments made by regulation 3 do not affect the payment of remuneration by the Lord Chancellor to providers of civil legal services in relation to a case where the application for civil legal services was made before 22nd December 2025.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation an application is made on the date on which it is signed.

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Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor Sarah Sackman Minister of State 27th November 2025 Ministry of Justice 5Document Generated: 2025-12-22

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EXPLANATORY NOTE (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations amend the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/422) to increase fees for Controlled Work in the housing and debt and immigration and asylum categories of civil legal aid. It also amends the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 to substitute the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme with the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.

Regulation 2 updates the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3098) by amending the reference to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme, as this was replaced by the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service on the 1st August 2023 as a result of the Civil Legal Aid (Housing and Asylum Accommodation) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/147).

Regulation 3 amends the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 to amend the rates paid to immigration and asylum legal aid and the housing and debt providers for the fees paid for preparation and attendance to at least £65.35/£69.30 per hour (non-London/London), or provide a 10% uplift, whichever is higher, across Controlled Work. Fixed fees and escape fee thresholds are uplifted by the same percentage increase as the underlying hourly rate for that work. It also merges the immigration and asylum table with the housing and debt table where the values are the same. The rates in table 8(ca) have not been increased as they are not payable for Controlled Legal Representation commenced on or after 1st April 2023.

Regulation 4 provides that the amendments made in regulation 3 do not affect the payment of civil legal services provided under a legal aid determination made before 22nd December 2025.

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is included in the assessment published with the explanatory memorandum alongside this instrument (on www.legislation.gov.uk).

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