Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015

Chapter 7

Legal aid in respect of applications under this Part

Amendment of Act of 1995

52. The Act of 1995 is amended—

(a) in section 1 by inserting the following definition:

“ ‘relevant person’ has the meaning it has in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015;”,

(b) in section 26(3) —

(i) in paragraph (a), by substituting “has already been given,” for “has already been given, and”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting “section 28(9)(c), and” for “section 28(9)(c).”, and

(iii) by inserting, after paragraph (b), the following:

“(c) a party to an application under Part 5 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 shall qualify for legal advice.”,

(c) in section 28 by inserting after subsection (3) the following:

“(3A) Where the proceedings the subject matter of the application under this section concern an application under Part 5 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 relating to the matter referred to in section 37 (1) of that Act—

(a) paragraphs (c) and (e) of subsection (2) shall not apply, and

(b) where the applicant is a relevant person, paragraph (a) shall not apply.”,

(d) in section 28(5) —

(i) in paragraph (d) by deleting “aid.” and substituting “aid, and”, and

(ii) by inserting after paragraph (d) the following:

“(e) who is a patient, within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 2001 , for the purpose of providing that person with legal representation before a tribunal in proceedings under that Act.”,

(e) in section 33, by inserting after subsection (7) the following:

“(7A) Where a legal aid certificate has been granted to an applicant who is a relevant person who does not satisfy the criteria in respect of financial eligibility specified in section 29, the Board may seek to recover some or all of the costs of providing the legal aid to the relevant person concerned.”,

and

(f) in section 37(2), by inserting after paragraph (fb) the following:

“(fc) make provision for the mechanism for recovery of the costs referred to in section 33(7A);”.