The Legal Aid Agency made mistakes in its consideration of application for legal aid

What happened

Mr S applied for legal aid to be represented in a court case. There were delays by the LAA and it also initially wrongly refused the application as it believed it was incomplete. This meant the LAA did not fully consider Mr S's application until after his case was heard in court. It then refused Mr S's application as it did not consider it had merit. Mr S's court case was unsuccessful and he was ordered to pay costs of around £2,000.

Mr S complained to the LAA. It accepted that its initial decision had been wrong, and that there was unnecessary delay in making that decision. The LAA also accepted that it delayed replying to Mr S's complaints and to his request for compensation. Mr S came to us because he was wanted compensation from the LAA.

What we found

The LAA made mistakes in Mr S's case, and there were excessive delays by the LAA in dealing with both his legal aid application and his complaint. However, we could not say for certain that Mr S would have been granted legal aid if the LAA had not made mistakes. And we could not say whether the outcome of Mr S's court case would have been any different if he had been granted legal aid, or that he would not have been ordered to pay costs. We did agree that by not having the LAA's decision in advance of the hearing, Mr S was unable to make an informed decision about the risks of pursuing his case without the benefit of legal aid.

The LAA's mistakes and delays caused Mr S distress and frustration during what was an already difficult time for him.

Putting it right

The LAA paid Mr S £350 for the loss of opportunity to make an informed decision about his court case, and £150 for the frustration and inconvenience caused by its delays and poor complaint handling.