Crown Court means testing of criminal legal aid

Results updated 5 Jul 2013

As part of the wider drive to deliver efficiencies across the criminal legal aid scheme, as well as to improve its credibility with the public, we published a consultation paper in October 2012 setting out proposals to strengthen the effectiveness of the Crown Court means testing scheme.

We aim to implement a raft of measures to help ensure that defendants comply fully with the terms of the scheme. These measures will facilitate the comprehensive assessment of a defendant’s means so that their potential liability to contribute towards the costs of their defence can be accurately measured and appropriately enforced.

This package of measures will come into force on 1 April 2013, with the exception of motor vehicle orders which will be introduced in July 2013. These will allow for the seizure of a defendant’s motor vehicle in the event of wilful non-compliance with a contribution order, and for the potential sale of the vehicle if the defendant is subsequently convicted. 

Files:

• Impact assessment, 95.1 KB (PDF document)
• Consultation response, 286.7 KB (PDF document)
• Addendum consultation response, 137.3 KB (PDF document)
• Impact assessment, 92.1 KB (PDF document)