Legal Aid Agency
Summary of processing timescales
Information will be updated on a weekly basis and the current position will be the oldest date as of Friday the previous week.
The exception is Civil Applications which will be updated on a Monday, Wednesday and a Friday to reflect our current processing timescales.
Current targets:
| Civil applications | Civil bills | Very high cost case plans and correspondence (family cases exceeding 25,000 using single counsel) |
|---|---|---|
| 85% processed (end-to-end) in 20 working days (excluding the most complex cases) | 95% of complete and accurate bills within 20 working days | 95% within 20 working days |
We continually aim to turnaround applications and bills as soon as possible and strive to deliver performance under our current set targets.
Civil applications
Civil application dates are updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (last updated 05 July 2022).
| Work type | Current position (working days) |
|---|---|
| Applications (inc means assessments) | 8 days |
| Amendments/Authorities | 7 days |
| Appeal | 6 days |
| Discharge | 3 days |
| Means re-assessments | 3 days |
Civil bills
These timescales apply to paper and CCMS claims.
Please remember to submit your CCMS Outcome promptly to avoid payment delays as these timescales for CCMS claims reflect those claims that have already had their outcomes reported and finalised. Civil news: submitting case outcomes and prompt payments
| Work type | Current position (working days) |
|---|---|
| Court Assessed | 5 days |
| Fixed fee | 7 days |
| Hourly rate | 6 days |
| FAS | 4 days |
| POA | 0 days |
Please allow a further 5 9 days for payment to be received.
For further performance information please see the Government Performance Platform.
High Cost Family
| Work type | Current position (working days) |
|---|---|
| Case plan | 31 days |
| Claim 1 in lieu of a case plan | 30 days |
| Correspondence | 0 days |
| Contracts | 0 days |
ECCT Applications
| Processing Target | % in Target |
|---|---|
| We aim to process 80% of all Exceptional and Complex Case applications within 25 working days of receipt. This includes Emergency applications which are processed more quickly. Emergency applications are made where there is no time to submit a substantive application (for example due to an imminent hearing) and it is not possible to exercise delegated authority to grant emergency funding | 83% |
| We aim to process 90% of all Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) applications within 25 working days. This excludes time any applications are on hold, for example if we need further information to be able to make a decision. Urgent ECF applications are monitored separately and we aim to process those within 10 working days. Urgent ECF applications are those where services are requested to deal with an emergency and we agree that the case should be considered in a quicker timeframe (rather than rely on backdating provisions). | 86% |
Last updated 5 July 2022 +show all updates
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