Clause 7

after section 2, insert — “PART 1A APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AID, SOLICITORS, ETC.”;

after section 4, insert —“Protection from personal liability4A.—

Subsection (2) applies where an act is done or omission is made —

by the Director or any public officer appointed under section 3(3)(a) in the exercise or purported exercise of a function under this Act (except the provision of any legal advice or legal representation to an aided person in any proceedings to which a Grant of Aid relates);

by an appointed solicitor in the exercise or purported exercise of a function under section 4(1) (including, if applicable, in discharging a duty of a solicitor mentioned in section 4(6));

by an appointed solicitor who is a member of a board mentioned in section 8(1)(b)(ii) in the exercise or purported exercise of the function under that provision (including, if applicable, in discharging a duty of a solicitor mentioned in section 4(6)); or

by a person authorised by the Minister under section 8(5), in the exercise or purported exercise of the power under section 8(4)(b).(2) No liability shall lie personally against any person mentioned in subsection (1) who did the act or made the omission, if the act was done or the omission was made in good faith and with reasonable care.(3) In subsection (1) —“appointed solicitor” means a solicitor appointed to the panel of solicitors mentioned in section 4(1);“exercise of a function” includes the performance of a duty.”;

after section 6, insert —“Application for legal aid in relation to appointment of deputy, etc.6A.—

This section applies where —

a person (P) lacks capacity within the meaning of section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2008; and

a professional deputy makes an application for legal aid under section 6 in relation to —

a proceeding to be appointed as P’s deputy under section 20(2)(b) of the Mental Capacity Act 2008; or

a proceeding to vary or amend an order made under section 20 of the Mental Capacity Act 2008, in relation to P.(2) Despite section 8, in considering an application by a professional deputy mentioned in subsection (1), the Director is to —

make inquiries under section 7(a) as to the means and condition of P (instead of the professional deputy); and

consider under section 8(1)(a) or (2)(b) whether P satisfies the prescribed means criteria (instead of the professional deputy).(3) The Minister may exercise his or her powers under section 8(4)(b) or (5) even though the Director is of the opinion that P does not satisfy or is not likely to satisfy the prescribed means criteria, and the reference in section 8(5) to the financial circumstances of an applicant is to be read as a reference to the financial circumstances of P.(4) The privileges mentioned in section 22(1) do not arise in relation to any information tendered to the Director concerning the property or income of P in relation to the professional deputy’s application for a Grant of Aid.(5) In this section, “professional deputy” means a person who —

is registered as a professional deputy under section 25A of the Mental Capacity Act 2008; or

meets such other criteria as may be prescribed.”;

in section 12(6)(a), replace “where, in respect of such property, there is a charge created under section 22A(3) in favour of any fund established under this Act;” with “; or”;

in section 12(6)(b), replace “; or” at the end with a comma;

in section 12(6), delete paragraph (c);

in section 14(4), replace “taxed” with “assessed”;

in section 16, after subsection (6), insert —“(7) The Director may, in the Director’s discretion and in accordance with any regulations made under this Act, reduce any costs, or waive or refund the whole or any part of any costs, that a person is liable to pay to the Director under subsection (3).”;

in section 22A, replace subsections (3) and (4) with —“(3) Unless the regulations made under this Act provide otherwise, any sum remaining unpaid on account of a person’s contribution in respect of any matter for which legal aid has been granted may be deducted from any property that is recovered or preserved for that person in the proceedings connected to the matter.(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a reference to any property recovered or preserved for a person in any proceedings includes a reference to both of the following:

the person’s rights under any settlement or compromise to avoid, or to end, those proceedings;

any sums recovered by the person as damages or costs under an order made in the person’s favour in those proceedings (other than any sums payable to the Director under section 14 or 16),but excludes a reference to any compensation paid or payable to the person under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 or the Work Injury Compensation Act (Cap. 354, 2009 Revised Edition) in those proceedings.”;

in section 22A(5), replace “The charge under subsection (3)” with “Subsection (3)”;

after section 22A, insert —“Recovery as debt due to Government22B.—

The Director may take proceedings to recover the following as a debt due to the Government:

any money remaining unpaid that the aided person is liable to pay to the Director under section 13(6) or 16(3);

any contribution remaining unpaid that the aided person is required to make under section 22A(1).(2) Without affecting the Limitation Act 1959 and any other written law, the Director may take proceedings to recover any money or contribution under subsection (1) that was due before the date of commencement of section 7(k) of the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2024 and remains unpaid on or after that date.”;

in section 23, delete subsection (4); and

in the Schedule, in Part 1, in paragraph 1, after “General Division of the High Court,”, insert “the Family Division of the High Court,”.