Legal Aid | Nigel Shepherd, Barrister-at-Law

Civil legal aid in England (and Wales) is limited to matters listed in LASPO 2012, Schedule 1. Unless Schedule 1 expressly puts an issue in scope, it is out; this reversed the pre-LASPO position, where everything was in scope unless the Access to Justice Act 1999 excluded it. The main areas in scope, leaving aside crime and immigration, are below.

Family

Public law children cases (care and supervision proceedings). Parents and children get non-means, non-merits-tested funding.
Private family law (children arrangements, finances) only where there is evidence of domestic abuse or child abuse.
Protective injunctions: non-molestation and occupation orders, forced marriage protection orders, FGM protection orders.
International child abduction.
Family mediation, and legal help to support mediation.

Housing

Loss of the home: possession, eviction, unlawful eviction.
Homelessness.
Disrepair posing a serious risk to health or safety.
Duty advice at possession hearings (the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, which is non-means-tested).

Debt

Only where the home is at risk: mortgage possession, orders for sale, and bankruptcy where the home is part of the estate.

Mental health and capacity

Mental Health Tribunal cases (non-means-tested).
Court of Protection, particularly deprivation of liberty challenges under s.21A (non-means-tested) and serious medical treatment cases.

Community care

Challenges about local authority provision of care and support.

Public law

Judicial review.
Claims against public authorities for abuse of position or power, or for significant breaches of Convention rights. This includes actions against the police.

Discrimination and education

Equality Act discrimination claims. This is the main employment-related route; other employment work is out of scope.
Special educational needs, and discrimination in education.

Welfare benefits

Appeals on a point of law to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court only. First-tier tribunal appeals are out of scope.

Clinical negligence

Only for infants who suffered a severe neurological injury during pregnancy, birth or the first eight weeks.

Abuse and trafficking

Civil claims arising from abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, or from sexual offences.
Claims by victims of trafficking or modern slavery, including employment and compensation claims.

Inquests

Legal help is available. Representation is normally only through exceptional case funding, although there are newer non-means-tested routes for some bereaved families.

Other

Defending antisocial behaviour injunctions and gang injunctions.
Terrorism-related measures (TPIMs, asset freezing).
Environmental pollution nuisance claims.
The High Court’s inherent jurisdiction for vulnerable adults.

There has also been a recent change: SI 2026/861 amends Schedule 1 to bring the new antisocial behaviour and related prevention measures created by the Crime and Policing Act 2026 into scope.

Main exclusions. Personal injury, ordinary negligence, defamation, consumer and contract disputes, most employment work, wills and trusts, conveyancing, company and partnership matters, and private family law without abuse evidence. For anything out of scope, exceptional case funding under s.10 is available where refusing funding would breach Convention or retained EU rights. It is commonly sought for inquests, immigration and some family cases.

Anything in scope still has to pass the means and merits tests; some of the exemptions are noted above.

Sources

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