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Procurement process opens for delivery of criminal legal aid services from Wednesday 1 October 2025.
The new service to receive legal aid applications, Apply for Criminal Legal Aid, has now replaced eForms CRM14 and CRM15.
Guidance and forms have been updated to support the new 2024 Standard Civil Contract.
The new ’Claim a non-standard magistrates’ court payment’ service has been launched
Apply for prior authority to incur disbursements and Apply for Extension of Upper Limit are the replacement services for CRM4 and CRM5 eForms.
Applications for criminal legal aid must now be submitted via Apply for criminal legal aid.
Advantis Credit Limited will deliver Crown Court means testing (CCMT) debt collection and enforcement services (DCES) on behalf of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).
With effect from Tuesday 6 August, all new applications for criminal legal aid should be submitted using the new Crime Apply service.
Providers will not be able to access their eForm portal account from Friday 25 October 2024. Providers should download any needed eForms before this date.
The new service to receive legal aid applications, Apply for Criminal Legal Aid, will replace eForms CRM14 and CRM15 from Tuesday 6 August 2024.
The LAA are extending our Peer Reviewer Contracts by the maximum term of two years and notices are now being sent to all of our contracted Reviewers.
A further opportunity to tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract opened on 11 July 2024, for Housing, Debt and Welfare Benefits and limited HLPAS areas.
98 per cent of applications can now be made through the Apply for Criminal Legal Aid service.
As part of the withdrawal of eForms functionality, from Friday 2 August 2024, you will no longer be able to submit your claims for Payments on Account (POA).
The LAA’s current service contract that supports processing of applications and claims on criminal legal aid (eForms) ends in September 2024.
A new document focusing on the forthcoming tender and content of the 2025 contract.
Criminal Legal Aid Manual updated to explain the process for applications for partially convicted defendants to pay a proportion of their costs.
A further opportunity to tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract opened on Monday 18 March 2024.
Innocent people who have suffered miscarriages of justice, personal harm or injury are among those who will benefit from upcoming changes to legal aid means testing coming into effect this year.
First published during the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government
Working with the Law Society and Association of Prison Lawyers, the LAA have amended the crime contract and associated guidance.
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