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Civil news: disbursements billing revised

Update to the immigration and mental health specifications of the 2018 Civil Legal Aid Contract.

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The immigration and mental health specifications of the 2018 Civil Contract were updated today (10 August), following a short consultation.

This change will allow for faster payments to law firms and providers of legal aid services.

This is in addition to recent changes made to fees payable for mental health tribunal remote hearings.

What are the new rules?

The amendments to these specifications will allow law firms and providers of legal aid services to stage bill for disbursements every 3 months for controlled matters in the immigration and mental health categories.

Providers will be able to stage bill on matters that were opened before the contract amendment came into force.

Previously, it was possible to stage bill for disbursements in these categories every 6 months.

When will the new rules apply?

These changes apply from 10 August 2020.

Further information

Standard civil contract 2018 – to download the new versions of the immigration and mental health specifications (August 2020).

Published 10 August 2020