Legal Aid (Scotland) (Assessment of Resources) Regulations, 1950
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1950/1514 |
| Year | 1950 |
1950 No. 1514 (S. 110)
The Legal Aid (Scotland) (Assessment of Resources) Regulations, 195011thSeptember 1950
12thSeptember 1950
2ndOctober 1950
In exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 4 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1949(c), and of all other powers enabling me in that behalf, and with the concurrence of the Treasury, I hereby make the following Regulations:—
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Scotland) (Assessment of Resources) Regulations, 1950, and shall come into operation on the second day of October, 1950. These Regulations and the Legal Aid (Scotland) (General) Regulations, 1950(d), may be cited together as the Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations, 1950.
(a) S.I. 1948 (No. 1691) I, p. 3778.
(b) 7 Edw. 7. c. 51.
(c) 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 63.
(d) S.I. 1950 No. 1513, p. 1236 below.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, 1949;
"the Board" means the National Assistance Board;
"Committee" means the Supreme Court Committee or a Local Committee established under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Scheme, 1950, made under section 8 of the Act, by whom the Board are required to determine the disposable income and the disposable capital and the maximum contribution of any person;
"certificate" means a legal aid certificate issued by a Committee in accordance with the Legal Aid (Scotland) Scheme, 1950;
"dependent child" means a child or stepchild or adopted child of the person concerned, living with him and under the upper limit of compulsory school age, and "the upper limit of compulsory school age" means the age at which under the law for the time being in force the parents of a child cease to be under obligation to cause him to receive sufficient education;
"income" includes benefits and privileges;
"the period of computation" means the period of twelve months next ensuing from the date of the application for a certificate or such other period of twelve months as in the particular circumstances of any case the Board may consider to be appropriate;
"the person concerned" means the person whose disposable income, disposable capital and maximum contribution are to be determined or the person the rate of whose income and the amount of whose capital is to be computed or the person whose resources are to be treated as the resources of any other person as the case may require.
(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889(a), applies to these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
(4) Any reference in these Regulations to any payment received or made or any debt due or owed or any other resource possessed or obligation due by an applicant under Scots law shall include references to any such resource or obligation under any corresponding provision in the law of any other country.
2. In computing the rate of income or the amount of capital of the person concerned there shall be excluded the value of the subject matter of the dispute in respect of which application has been made for a certificate.
3. Where any person has a duty or discretion to use any fund for the benefit of the person concerned there may be included in the rate of his income or the amount of his capital so much of that fund as appears to the Board to be reasonable.
4.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this Regulation, in computing the rate of income and the amount of capital of the person concerned the resources of his or her spouse shall be treated as his or her resources.
(2) The resources of the spouse of the person concerned shall not be treated as his or her resources if—
(i) the proceedings in respect of which the application for a certificate is made are a consistorial action, or
(ii) the person concerned and the spouse are living separate and apart, or
(a) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(iii) it would in the circumstances of the case be either inequitable or impracticable to make the resources of one spouse available to the other spouse.
5. Where an application for legal aid is made on behalf of a person under the age of 16, his resources shall be deemed to include the resources of any person who under section 42 of the National Assistance Act, 1948(a), is liable to maintain him and for the purpose of any investigation by the Board such person shall be deemed to have applied for legal aid jointly with him.
6. If it appears to the Board that the person concerned, with intent to reduce the amount of his disposable income, disposable capital or maximum contribution, has directly or indirectly deprived himself of any resource or has converted any part of his resources into resources which under these Regulations are to be wholly or partly disregarded or in respect of which nothing is to be included, the resources of which he has so deprived himself or which he has so converted shall be treated as part of his resources or as not so converted as the case may be.
7. Save as otherwise provided by these Regulations, the disposable income of the person concerned shall be determined at the amount calculated by deducting from his rate of income computed in accordance with Part I of the First Schedule to these Regulations the sums computed in accordance with Part II of the said Schedule.
8. Save as otherwise provided by these Regulations, the disposable capital of the person concerned shall be determined at the amount calculated by deducting from the amount of his capital computed in accordance with Part I of the Second Schedule to these Regulations the sums computed in accordance with Part II of the said Schedule.
9.—(1) The disposable income, disposable capital and maximum contribution of the person concerned shall be determined by the Board in accordance with these Regulations and any question arising thereunder shall be decided by the Board, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Board shall decide any question as to the resources to be taken into account, the amount or value of any resources, the method of computation thereof (including whether a resource is of an income or capital nature), and the amount of any deduction, allowance or adjustment.
(2) Subject to the provisions of the succeeding Regulations, every decision or determination of the Board shall be final.
(3) The determination of the disposable income, disposable capital and maximum contribution shall be communicated in writing to the Committee.
10. Where it appears to a Committee that the circumstances upon which the Board has determined the disposable income or disposable capital of the person concerned have altered to such an extent that his certificate should be varied or discharged the Board shall, if so required by that Committee, redetermine that person's disposable income...
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