The Courts and Tribunals Fee Remissions Order 2013

Interpretation

1.—(1) In this Schedule—

“child” means a person—

(a)

whose main residence is with a party and who is aged—

(i)

under 16 years; or

(ii)

16 to 19 years; and is—

(aa)

not married or in a civil partnership; and

(bb)

enrolled or accepted in full-time education that is not advanced education, or approved training; or

(b)

in respect of whom a party or their partner pays child support maintenance or periodic payments in accordance with a maintenance agreement,

and “full-time education”, “advanced education” and “approved training” have the meaning given by the Child Benefit (General) Regulations 2006(1);

“child support maintenance” has the meaning given in section 3(6) of the Child Support Act 1991(2);

“couple” has the meaning given in section 3(5A) of the Tax Credits Act 2002(3);

“disposable capital” has the meaning given in paragraph 5;

“excluded benefits” means any of the following—

(c)

any of the following benefits payable under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(4) or the corresponding provisions of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(5)—

(i)

attendance allowance under section 64;

(ii)

severe disablement allowance;

(iii)

carer’s allowance;

(iv)

disability living allowance;

(v)

constant attendance allowance under section 104 as an increase to a disablement pension;

(vi)

any payment made out of the social fund;

(vii)

housing benefit;

(viii)

widowed parents allowance;

(d)

any of the following benefit payable under the Tax Credits Act 2002—

(i)

any disabled child element or severely disabled child element of the child tax credit;

(ii)

any childcare element of the child tax credit;

(e)

any direct payment made under the Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2009(6), the Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (Wales) Regulations 2011(7), the Carers and Direct Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 2002(8), or section 12B(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968(9);

(f)

a back to work bonus payable under section 26 of the Jobseekers Act 1995(10), or article 28 of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(11);

(g)

any exceptionally severe disablement allowance paid under the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(12);

(h)

any payments from the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit;

(i)

any pension paid under the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pension Order 2006(13);

(j)

any payment made from the Independent Living Funds;

(k)

any payment made from the Bereavement Allowance;

(l)

any financial support paid under an agreement for the care of a foster child;

(m)

any housing credit element of pension credit;

(n)

any armed forces independence payment;

(o)

any personal independence payment payable under the Welfare Reform Act 2012(14);

(p)

any payment on account of benefit as defined in the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013(15);

(q)

any of the following amounts, as defined by the Universal Credit Regulations 2013(16), that make up an award of universal credit—

(i)

an additional amount to the child element in respect of a disabled child;

(ii)

a housing costs element;

(iii)

a childcare costs element;

(iv)

a carer element;

(v)

a limited capability for work or limited capacity for work and work -related activity element.

“family help (higher)” has the meaning given in paragraph 15(3) of the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013(17);

“family help (lower)” has the meaning given in paragraph 15(2) of the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013;

“gross monthly income” has the meaning given in paragraph 13;

“Independent Living Funds” means the funds listed at regulation 20(2)(b) of the Criminal Legal Aid (Financial Resources) Regulations 2013(18);

“legal representation” has the meaning given in paragraph 18(2) of the Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013;

“maintenance agreement” has the meaning given in subsection 9(1) of the Child Support Act 1991;

“partner” means a person with whom the party lives as a couple and includes a person with whom the party is not currently living but from whom the party is not living separate and apart;

“party” means the individual who would, but for this Schedule, be liable to pay a fee under this Order;

“restraint order” means—

(a)

an order under section 42(1A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981(19);

(b)

an order under section 33 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996(20);

(c)

a civil restraint order made under rule 3.11 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998(21), or a practice direction made under that rule; or

(d)

a civil restraint order under rule 4.8 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010(22), or the practice direction referred to in that rule.

(2) References to remission of a fee are to be read as including references to a part remission of a fee as appropriate and remit and remitted shall be construed accordingly.

(1)

S.I. 2006/223, amended by S.I. 2009/3268 and 2012/818.

(2)

1991 c. 48; section 3(6) was amended by subsection 1(2)(a) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c. 19).

(3)

2002 c.21; section 3(5A) was inserted by paragraph 144 of Schedule 24 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c.33).

(4)

1992 c.4.

(5)

1992 c. 7 (N.I.).

(6)

S.I. 2009/1887.

(7)

S.I. 2011/831.

(8)

2002 c. 6 (N.I.).

(9)

1968 c. 49; section 12B was inserted by section 4 of the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 (c. 30). Subsection (1) was amended by section 7 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 5) and section 70 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 8).

(10)

1995 c.18; section 26 has been amended but none of those amendments are relevant to this Order.

(11)

S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15).

(12)

S.I. 1983/686, amended by S.I. 1983/1164, 1983/1540, 1984/1289, 1984/1675, 1985/1313, 1986/628, 1987/191, 1988/367, 1988/2260, section 123 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 8 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c.33), S.I. 1989/415, 1990/1300, 1991/708, 1992/702, 1992/3226, 1993/480, 1994/715, 1994/2021, 1995/445, 1997/812, 1999/262, 2001/420, 2002/672, 2004/717, 2005/655, 2005/3031, 2006/765, 2007/646, 2008/592, 2008/2683, 2009/438, 2010/283, 2010/1172, 2011/811, 2011/1740, 2012/670 and modified by S.I. 2005/3137.

(13)

S.I. 2006/606, amended by S.I. 2006/1455, 2007/909, 2008/679, 2008/2683, 2009/706, 2010/240, 2011/235, 2011/1740 and 2012/359.

(14)

2012 c. 5.

(15)

S.I. 2013/383.

(16)

S.I. 2013/376.

(17)

S.I. 2013/104.

(18)

S.I. 2013/471.

(19)

1981 c. 54; subsection 42(1A) was inserted by s.24 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23).

(20)

1996 c. 17.

(21)

S.I. 1998/3132, rule 3.11 was inserted by rule 6 of S.I. 2004/2072.

(22)

S.I. 2010/2955.