Coronavirus Resilience and Recovery Fund for Legal Aid

The Coronavirus Resilience and Recovery Fund for Legal Aid has been set up to provide financial support to enable Scottish legal firms and Scottish law centres to continue to offer Legal Aid services to the public. This is to ensure ongoing support for Legal Aid clients, such as those experiencing housing, eviction and debt issues.

How much funding is available?

The Fund will have up to £9m available and will aim to bring businesses back up to the income they could reasonably have expected had the pandemic not impacted on their levels of new Legal Aid business.

The Legal Aid Interim Fees scheme, which was introduced at the start of the pandemic to support cash flow to Legal Aid firms, can be used in parallel with any application for support for this grant.

Is my business eligible?

Grant funding is available to eligible applicants who can:-

1. demonstrate that they have seen an adverse impact on new Legal Aid business in the year 2020-21 related to the coronavirus pandemic and
2. commit to continuing to deliver Legal Aid services until March 2022

To be eligible for a one-off grant payment you will:-

• be a law centre or firm providing services funded by Legal Aid
• have been generating at least 20% of your business turnover from Legal Aid income before the coronavirus pandemic
• intend to continue operating in the Legal Aid sector after the coronavirus pandemic

How do I apply?

Applications can be made to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), which will assess them on behalf of the Scottish Government. You can apply online via the SLAB website.

https://www.slab.org.uk/resilience-fund-grant-application-form/

The Scottish Government is the final decision maker on all applications and will make all payments.

The deadline for applications is 31 March 2021 at midnight.

Information required to make a claim

• Your cash turnover for your last full trading year before March 2020 (excluding outlays and VAT).

This will depend on your business’s financial year – for example, if your year ends in October, provide your turnover from October 2018 to October 2019. If you have not been trading a full year, use the turnover you generated up to March 2020 which will be considered on a pro rata basis.

Note that evidence of your cash turnover will be required retrospectively to substantiate your claim. Depending on your business structure this may require management accounts signed by an independent auditor or accountant.

There will be a term in the grant agreement with the Scottish Government that you will be required to produce vouching.

• For sole practitioners and partnerships: the Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) numbers of up to four partners
• The Legal Aid firm code and practitioner codes for all solicitors mandating payments to the firm as at 24 January 2021
• Other Coronavirus support funding: you must provide details of any funding received or pending, including type, amount and reference
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: If your firm has claimed furlough you must provide your PAYE reference number
• Company registration number/OSCR charity number

When will the grant be paid?

Once your submitted application has been reviewed and deemed eligible, the Scottish Government will send you a grant award letter confirming the grant amount you are eligible to receive.

The grant award letter must be signed and returned to the Scottish Government, after which payment will be made “as soon as possible.”

The payment will be made to the bank account used for Legal Aid payments.

https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/service/funding/coronavirus-resilience-and-recovery-fund-for-legal-aid

The information in this blog provides only an overview of Scottish Government guidance and legislation in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed Scottish Government guidance and legislation or seeking professional advice.  Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this blog can be accepted by the firm.

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash